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Yes, I also thank all for the help. I did not have any pain or symptoms from any of the food on Thanksgiving. I did make the mistake of eating a small piece of store bought pie (filling only) the day after. Within thirty minutes my joints were stiff and hurt like heck.

With limited access to information-ie.AOL filters and no "Dr." credentials behind my name I have, nevertheless, been able to learn that substances from the marijuana plant block the neurotoxic effects of manufactured free glutamic acid (obviously why special interest groups are now blocking access to any active cannabidiol material).

There are different species of marijuana -- those high in CBD's block glutamate. Many patients receive help from hemp. New regulations are trying to remove all hemp products from shelves.

Many of these are sterilized. Non sterilized versions would be welcome. To keep the door open to access to active hemp products--Voice your comments to above address.

Someday---almost guaranteed, if you're at this msg site as a reactor-- you may need to seek relief from CBDs.

Pharmaceuticals are being developed from derivatives but are not natural ---we should be allowed to use the natural plant.

People are walking around and driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs and "raging" as well as passing out & having other reactions under the influence of MSG. Either manufactured free glutamic acid should be declared a controlled substance or marijuana should be removed from the list

I wouldn't care what they do with Cannabis plants ordinarily but being neurotoxically poisoned at the present rate that we are, we should not be denied access to safe affordable relief.

Don't allow the door to be closed and all access eradicated to what may be the most health benefical plant of all times for the most people. Visit patients out of time.com Send comments to DEA before Dec. 10 Write Congressman and Senators

Nevertheless, I am concerned about possible detrimental effects to the lungs of marijuana smokers. Decades ago, my "friends" drove me to a party where, upon entering, I was hit with the haze. I escaped to their car, where I waited out the party, but had already gotten my lungs full of the second hand smoke and suffered one of the worst asthma attacks I ever had.

Marijuana doesn't have to be smoked. Why damage the lungs when it can be swallowed, put in lip balm or shampoo. The aim isn't to get high just to block glutamate since no other practical solutions exist. Glutamate reactors have been left with only one option ---fresh food. Now they want to spray it with glutamate. So where does that leave us? The only thing left is to try to block it. I want the legal option to try. I want to block glutamate and TNF. I want my childen's cartilege be able to be able to build and repair itself normally. They want to do sports and ski but glutamate has interfered with connective tissue at the cellular level leaving them with extremely fragile joints. Just one of the multitude of ways they react to it. We're not the only ones, look at all the back products and devices being marketed and all those cervical fusions. What makes me really angry is no options; so much of the "health" food is bogus I get eye floaters and tintitus after eating it, I know it's got manufactured free glutamic acid (MFGA)in it. Do they think this is funny? Who owns these health food places? Why can't we have ANY safe food options? Gardening in an MFGA induced deteriorated condition is not a true option. Lifting, stooping standing in an 80 year old like body,try it. Why can't some food be canned in jars like our grandparents did? Have small bakerys on the corner, --- an economy based on services, chefs, health consultants, education services,money management, entertainment, the government and advertisers can create a market for anything--why must the market be based on something that steals lives and happiness from people.

Everyone, I found a new suspicous product, Health Valley Beef Broth in paper cartons. The cans say no msg and it is one of the few commercial soups that is safe for me. The new paper cartons say no msg on the front but list natural flavors as an ingredient. I called and got the standard answer, it is just spices-but they admit they buy their spices from an outside company and don't know what is in the "spices". I'm not buying/eating this. I suggest you watch out for the soup in a carton even if you can eat the canned product sucessfully. Even if it says no msg on the front of the carton I don't trust what they try to slip in the back door.

You are so right. What is needed are some entrepreneurs. Someone willing to grow food free of glutamate sprays and hydrolyzed fish protein and willing to ship it to those who can only eat fresh food without glutamate sprayed on it. Small bakeries, as you say ,baking bread without malted barley or dough enhancers. Is this so difficult?

Go to http://www.amazon.com and in the search function for books, insert: Glutamic Acid. You'll see alot of interesting books on the subject --- if you can afford the cost and have the time to read them.

Forgot to add that if you are new here, you can check out Deb's book via Amazon.com Search for: Battling the MSG Myth Its the best place to start. I just went through my copy again for probably the 10th time --- so much useful info.

Thank you for that superb reference on glutamate and glutamate receptors in the retina. I was aware of one reference from Dr. Blaylock on Dr. Olney's work but nothing later. That explains my recent retinal detachment. I was suspicious of glutamate. Needless to say, I am enraged.

The linked article's conclusion pretty much implicates excess glutamate as being the main cause of toxicity in the retina. It is unconscionable that manufacturers would knowingly put a chemical in our food that can raise blood levels of glutamate to many times normal, risking damage to our eyes, brains, and everywhere else in our bodies where glutamate receptors are located.

This article appeared in our local paper yesterday -- thought it might be of interest to those of you who have family or friends that this info could help.

Carol,

Any ideas why nicotine my help reduce the affects of these diseases that we feel are linked to MSG?

****************** Dear Dr. Gott: My husband, 87, has severe Parkinson's disease and lives in a special nursing home. Three months ago, his conversation was nonexistent, despite the use of L-dopa.

Then I read an article in "The Economist" telling of the enhancement of life for patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome given the nicotine patch. My husband's neurologist was skeptical, but his doctor permitted me to use it.

It's been wonderful.

A month ago, my husband grasped my hand and kissed it. He speaks clearly, can feed himself and shows more interest in life.

It is not a cure, but I know that the patch as made a difference. I use the lowest dosage (Nicoderm 7) and apply the patch for 3 days.

It would appear that the link is nicotine's effect on inflammation. Do a google search for nicotine and inflammation. You'll turn up a heap of scientific data. Scientists believe Alzheimer's is basically the immune system turning on itself in the brain. Inflammation is caused by MSG stimulating the immune system (via the nervous system), nicotine appears to reduce inflammation. It may be as simple as that. I wouldn't advocate smoking though. Lung cancer is no fun, I hear.

Everyone, Thank you for all your information and suggestions which gave me, and so many others, another year of healthy living. The difference in my life is wonderful. Knowing you all are always there is so supportive when I have to eat so differently from most.

The family haven link is about an IFIC sponsored taste test. Now if the IFIC isn't run by the glutes I don't know who is. They are as tight as Cheney and Enron. They are trying to invent a fifth sense of taste to make MSG seem safe. Umami is just Newspeak for MSG killing your nerve cells.

According to Jack Samuels, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) is a lobby group supported by the coffers of the glutamate and food industries. They are paid to make MSG appear safe to the public. (page 58 in our book)

I was recently in Canada for a week, living on restaurant food. I was very MSG symptom free. Last November 2001, I was told that In Canada, MSG by any of its many names Must be labeled and that MSG laden foods served in restaurants also had to be labled. Can anyone support these statements?

I was recently in Canada for a week, living on restaurant food. I was very MSG symptom free. Last November 2001, I was told that In Canada, MSG by any of its many names Must be labeled and that MSG laden foods served in restaurants also had to be labled. Can anyone support these statements?

Sorry no such luck. I live two hours from the border to Canada and have found many many items that are not labeled as such and all the meat in the grocery stores is treated with nasty solutions. On the bright side they have wonderful produce and the health food stores I have encountered are awesome. the labeling laws in Canada are actually less sstrict than the U.S. You are so lucky to have gotten through restaraunts without a reaction. That is awesome.

Tuned into the congressional channel yesterday, 3-13-02, about 4 pm, to see what our representatives were up to and they were debating an amendment dealing with class action lawsuits---state vs. federal handling. Some house members were saying that in effect what the legislation amounted to is some class actions would never get court time, after being turned over to the Federal level they could be reviewed by one judge to determine if there was merit for trial or not then the class action could be dumped never to be tried or brought up again. Yeah--that works for you and me Joe citizen.

I have just recently learned more about MSG and its effects on health. I consider my nutrition to be very good. However due to the inlightment on MSG containing foods I now wonder is it. Almost every food I eat has MSG in it! I have not had any of the illnesses stated, does this mean MSG will not effect my health later? Concerned.

Anonymous, It may affect you later. I'd avoid MSG. You don't want to end up with the health problems many of us on this board have: hypothyroidism, migraines, A-Fib, hypertension, tinnitus, and depression. It's no fun, trust me. It also costs a lot of money for all the pharmaceuticals our doctors must prescribe now.

Amen, Carol! I wasn't effected by MSG until I hit 27. MSG is doing damage that can't be felt or seen for years...a culmulative effect. What else could account for the rise in so many disorders, physical and neurological over the last 10 to 20 years if it wasn't in our food? You can download our newly revised pamphlet at www.msgmyth.com for some of the stats.

My late 20's was around the time I first noticed Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, with tingling around the eyes as I ate the first course, soup. Nowadays, I think people are showing symptoms earlier, because there is so much more MSG in our foods now than back in the 50's and 60's. My daughter has had terrible stomache pains for years from MSG; she's only 19. MSG is awful stuff!

I was 22 when I first realised that something was wrong. This is when I took my first seizure. Unfortunately at this time I thought Dr's knew everything and relied on their theory that I had become epileptic, then Afib then Fibro......

Twenty years it took me to realise that my problems could be avoided by the elimination of MSG. IT is progressive. Very progressive.

Anyone live near L.A.? Just received this today. Please let me know if any of you are interested in helping her. If so, e mail me at avenger@msgmyth.com. "Hi my name is Judy K____, I am a volunteer for Safe Harbor www.alternativementalhealth.com we are based out of Los Angeles. We are having a Doctor's conference on May 31 and June 1st in LA. I was very impressed with your website, I would like to know if if there is someone from LA who would be interested giving a talk about the horrors of msg at our conference, we cannot pay for the airfaire if coming from out of town but would have a place to stay and a ride to the airport. We are having a speaker from www.dorway.com which informs people about the horrors of aspartame, also Dr. Julia Ross the author of The Mood Cure and many more I will have more info as the date gets closer. A lot of doctors take these seminars to inform their patients. I run the support group once a month to the public which is free to attend and I always bring up topics such as aspartame and msg often I am totally against it and want to get the word out as much as possible. Please check out our website. The speaker of msg would have to limit the speech to how it affects mental health since that is what our nonprofit organization is about looking forward to hearing from you Judy"

I've been on this board about four years because of the migraines I have had most of my life. For awhile avoidance worked pretty well, but then I began developing escalating food allergies and finally through some folks on this board made the yeast connection. When I did that I was urged to find a doctor on the ACAM website and finally had something concrete I could take to a doctor in the way of the direction I wanted to go. I am being treated with the usual fungicides and the very restrictive diet and have high hopes for the future. What I am really writing about now is the fact that this doctor had me buy the book "The Fungus Link" by Doug Kaufmann and I just had to recommend it to everyone. It helped me a great deal. Here is the website for those interested. www.iknowthecause.com

Just want everyone to be warned that some day this week, my husband is going to try to change servers. So if you try to access the board, and can't get through, don't be too alarmed. Our site will be down for a couple days, as I understand. I'll warn again. Thanks.

Carol, just let some more people know about your site today. We are redecorating my son's office and were able to discuss a lot of things, including the sites. I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but your site is linked to our site and here at the discussion board. On our site, they can click on "the truth about MSG...scientific research" and get to your site that way. It's been that way for a long time...don't know why Mike just didn't put the address there..guess he wanted to pique people's curiosity. The daughter of a friend has just been diagnosed with celiac sprue, and she wanted to know why the doctor has her avoiding MSG, too. I was able to download your info about that and will give it to her....Thank you for all that you do. We are not going to let this cause die like NoMSG did, are we!!!!!!!! The more we share, the more the word gets spread. Another doctor e mailed yesterday asking for more info...this is great!

Just go back to the main page. There is no "home" link on this page, so you will have to delete everything in the address after .com and click "go". Then scroll down to and click on "The Truth About MSG" in the list to the left.

I just wanted to share with all of you that I have received a lot of phone calls about MSG this week...also some from people who tune into this discussion board regularly. It's very rewarding to be able to steer them into better understanding once in awhile when they have a question or stumbling block. Many times they just need someone to tell them they're not crazy or to to encourage them to get back on the right road when they have succombed to family or other pressures. What I wanted to share most with you is that all of them are so grateful for our site and discussion board. They specifically say it's a life saver and that they love those who constantly help them here. They are very, very grateful to be able to come here and read and not feel alone. Some don't post, but many say they keep learning so much. One said her family gives her such a hard time, and that's when she often thinks about the rest of us here, to help get her through. I tell them this is my support group, too...this is a condition that won't disappear...we all benefit so much. You are rendering a great service here. Thanks, all of you...I love you guys!!!

Deb A., This site truly is a lifesaver, and gives the me hope. A Pediatrician just stopped me in the hallway inquiring about a good msg web site. He has a young patient with unexplained migraine headaches. Of course, I shared this site. I am anxious to share this site next week with those in Dallas. Good work to all, and Deb, thank you so much for initiating and maintaining this resource and support mechanism.

Deb, you are definitely the "glue" that holds us together. Thanks to you and Mike, and your supportive family, we have built something quite wonderful. Do you realize it has been almost exactly 4 years to the day that this discussion board has been up, and many of us are still here and helping each other? That is no small accomplishment. Imagine a four year long conversation that just gets better as more and more voices are added to it every day............. Incredible.

Deb and all, Glad to report that I got through my first day at the Environmental Health Center in Dallas! Dr. Rea, once a cardiovascular surgeon, is my physician. Due to his own allergies, he changed his area of focus 20 years ago. I was quite pleased to answer most of his questions with "not since I stopped ingesting msg." He thinks we have a good thing here. 90% of my allergic symptoms went away Feb 2, 2003, when I made the msg connection. Dr. Rea feels he will be able to help me. It seems my body has other chemical toxicities, he stated probably from working in a hospital for 27 years, 13 of those in the Operating Room. For those of you with oral pain and a sometimes hot tongue..he feels certain they will be able to detox my body. He shared that CoQ 10 is wonderful. I had stopped taking it due to my reacting to all foods...he told me to get back on it. I am pleased to learn that he can help. There are other Environmental Health Centers in the world. They are chemical free, latex free, and all antigens are preservative free. They are also helping us with selecting flooring, cabinets, etc. for our home. So..for those of you who continue to react to more and more food, do not lose heart. MSG is absolutely terrible. All there said I would be in much worse shape if I had not made the connection. I will be going through 2 weeks of further testing and treatment. Who am I kidding...our treatment goes on for the rest of our lives...and we feel better. Thank you, Deb and all, for the help and support. I will always remain connected.

I'm happy to hear that you have a doctor who is very open minded...and that you are doing well, Jackye. You inspired me to get back on my CoQ10 again...can't hurt, especially during flu and cold season. P.S. So glad that you are part of our MSG "family". Please keep us posted.

Morning Sandra, I found most foods Graham loves in the health food store. You just have to read the labels carefully. There are plain breads, chips, organic dairy products. Just stay away from anything with preservatives or additives. I did by a bread machine so I could make simple bread and homemade pizza dough very easily. Buy organic fruits and vegetables, and wash with filtered water.

Graham loved all sorts of food.......we just made everything from scratch.... stayed away from packaged foods.

I used to get several headaches a week...very bad headaches.....I ate the foods Graham ate and found my headaches are almost completely gone... except for a sinus headache here and there when a rain storm is coming.

Hopefully this will help your daughter....oh....fresh fruit instead of candy, which almost always has additives that can cause trouble.

The list will help you a lot...they helped Graham and I so much....

Sadly Graham passed away a month ago....a medical mistake....I cannot say more...it is so deeply painful...and all I do is cry....I miss him so much... I feel like I'm living some horrible dream.....

I will send a copy of this to the group so they know why I have been so silent lately. I wont be on the list anymore.......it's just me now......and my husband who is so shattered....we both are........

I was reading the "battling the msg myth" web site. As I was reading thru it sounds as though you might have a few child friendly (no msg) recipes.

I have an 8 year old daughter who suffers from severe headaches. She has been to several different doctors, she had mri, and sinus surgery, but to make a long story short....my daughter stills has the headaches. I thought I'd follow my instincts and start with her diet. After doing a little on-line research I thought would try eliminating the msg in her diet.

Do you have any recipes that you could recommend that do not contain any msg, but that an 8 year old would eat?

Dear Laura, I just read your message. I want to send my love and prayers your way. Hearing that your beloved son, Graham has passed on brings tears and sadness to all of us who have known of your struggle and dedication to make his life easier and richer. I know you must take comfort in the fact that Graham knew how much you and your husband loved him each and every day of his precious life. In your grief, you still have compassion to reach out to others. Please visit us from time to time and let us know how you are doing. Sending you a big hug.. Deb A.

Carol, I didn't realize it's been 4 years! Thanks for bringing that to our attention and for all your kind words...and Jackye's too. Thank YOU, and thanks to all of our friends here for what we are able to accomplish together each and every day. We must not give up this battle to inform other victims. Let's dedicate all our efforts in the coming year to Graham...may he know that we care. We'll continue to do so for as long as we can, trying to warn and educate others.Thank you all for blessing my life..getting to know you here has been wonderful.

Laura, I am so sorry to hear of Graham's passing. I feel like we all knew him so well through you. It's hard to write this through the tears, but you have touched us deeply through your commitment and the love you showed for your son. Thank you for sharing with us your tremendous strength and hope.

I don't post often, but have followed the board regularly. I'm sure that I'm not alone when I say that I grew to feel such respect for both Laura and Graham. I have been influenced by you, Laura, to be a better mother because of the way you cared for your son. Thank you for the kind of person and mother that you are. You and Graham are in my prayers.

I think I've made a very interesting observation & I would like some input on my theory.

First off I feel it necessary to explain what protocol I've been following prior to making the msg connection. I've done 10 liver & gall-bladder flushes thus far & gotten out @2,055 stones of various sizes plus thousands & thousands of chaff, sludge, & strands of castings. I have avoided gall-bladder surgery & afterwards had no more attacks & the health benefits were incredible. But something happened after my 5th flush where I released a strand of casting that was over a foot long. Afterwards I gotten very sick & I learned that it was what was behind that strand that was very poisonous. Ever since I've had liver pain & left sided kidney pain. Actually the kidney pain I had for a few years. There's been times in the past where I've gotten rid of my liver & kidney pain by zapping but after awhile they both came back. I use to think the pain in my liver was a stubborn stone that just didn't want to come out but now I'm starting to think twice.

Ever since making the msg connection & at least consuming not too much msg & other excitotoxins I've noticed both my liver pain & kidney pain went away but rather slowly. I thought that was amazing in itself. Also had other great results in other areas of the body, but the part getting rid of pain in the liver & kidney I think is amazing.

Now one of the benefits of liver flushing is reducing the amount of colds & flu you get. All my life I've always gotten the cold & flu every winter season at least once or twice every year. It's been well over a year since I've gotten a cold or flu & I was proud of that. Till a few days ago I've gotten the cold & flu...I was pissed...I was doing so good.

Yesterday while at work after off for a couple of days I was still a little ill. But by the time I got home I felt just fine. I was hungry. After snacking on rice cakes & almond butter all day I didn't feel like any more. I had this prepackaged blueberry muffin that was loaded with msg & stuff. I decided to eat it(I know...I know). I was sitting down having my muffin & I noticed after only about 1/3 of the way though eating it I started to get some left side kidney pain, but I still finished the muffin. A little afterwards I noticed some liver pain & also a little right side kidney pain. By morning I was all achey & I gotten the cold & flu again.

This is where I think I made the connection. Think about it...these excitotoxins are a toxin right; so one would have a buildup of toxins in their liver & kidneys & elsewhere in the body. And if one is reducing the amount of excitotoxins being consumed than it only stands to reason that you're going to start releasing a buildup of toxins which would cause havoc. But if this is the case than what is it that's happening in our body's that's releasing these toxins? I will go on to venture to say that could it be that the release of these toxins is what started my original cold & flu in the first place. Think about it...like I said I've been avoiding the cold & flu prior by regularly taking vit c, olive leaf extract(works very well for me), grapefruit seed extract, & zapping. Then all of a sudden I get the illness soon after cutting down on msg. What about the CoQ10, taurine, vit B6, zinc, or the mag oratate I'm taking; could these have broken up the toxins? Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to say that by eliminating msg is a bad thing, but rather one just needs to get by the detoxification phase. So can anybody help me out here as I really think I'm onto something. Or has something to this effect already been posted or has anybody else experienced this?

There are a few possibilites, but we have heard from several people that they go though a type of withdrawal as they give up MSG...MSG is a toxin that is stored in our cells. As they are released, it's possible that there are side effects. But you cold have developed flu like symptoms to the muffin you ate. It can take days before an excess intake of MSG can work itself out, giving one several different reactions in that time. I often would get flu like symptoms following MSG intake on top of gut wrenching pain in the kidney/liver area sometimes. I enjoyed reading your post. Keep avoiding MSG!

Deb...thank you so much for your reply! You have confirmed my suspicion of my illness due to msg elimination. I just wish I was forewarned that this might happen. It seems apparent to me than in this turn of events that according to ones life style to the degree a person is consuming processed foods on a regular basis determines the amount of detoxification one would get after eliminating msg. In my case for the past few years I'd only consume nothing but processed foods for I simply did not cook. Also my wife does not cook; only on Thanksgiving & Christmas. Pretty bad huh...I know. While I was at work friday I noticed something else, I had urine frequency & each time it was cloudy, which also tells me that was a detox reaction. I sure would like to hear from other members on this forum if they had detox reactions as bad as I. Well at least I know what to do now & that is to continue with the msg elimination, proceed to a kidney flush, & a liver flush, & general detoxing.

Debbby & other members on this forum I thank you all!! I truly am on the road to health!

Hi Deb...thanks for being concerned. But I'm not on any detox program right now except for the msg elimination. Besides the cold which I still have but is better & the kidney & liver pain is better to I noticed my face broke out all red & blotchey looking but that is even getting better. But I do feel it necesary to get these toxins out of me. I promise whatever I do I will be careful. Wow...I must of had alot of excitotoxin in me.

Jolts - My biochemist is extremely careful with suggesting detoxing because I just can't take alot at once --- he believes over detoxing can actually create more problems with my already overloaded liver. For example, he put me on very small homeopathic dosages of olive leaf extract for a bladder infection and I began to notice little problems --- feeling off, random heart flutters --- so, we stopped it after just a few days. Eventually, we may try something else but again very carefully.

What are you using now that you are dealing with feeling ill?

I have only felt better from my efforts to eliminate processed foods providing I replaced them with enough good food. Sounds like you still need to find some things that you can safely snack on and maybe, you can go back on our old posts here for ideas. (Snacking on the right food is a problem for me too especially when I am on he road. I've had some store bought muffins that I will never forget for the trouble they caused me!) Since I have changed my diet, I have not had a cold or the flu -- that's going on 4 years!

It still is a shame that old posts on the discussion board at the NOMSG website were lost due to a server crash. Luckily Deb A.'s husband, Mike, has been able to back up this discussion board successfully and not lost any of this precious information.

Back when we were posting at the NOMSG site, many of us were led to suspect that the liver was being compromised by the excitotoxin effect of MSG and in turn, essential amino acids and nutrients that would be kept in balance by a normal working liver were lacking in people who regularly consumed MSG. These essentials included CoQ10, Magnesium, Vitamin B6 and Taurine.

Thus a regimen of supplementation seemed to help many sufferers as they worked to eliminate MSG containing products from their diet.

And yes, you are correct that the elimination process takes time not only to become adept at avoidance but also to allow stored MSG to be leached from the system. That is why we recommend to go on a caveman diet for the first couple of weeks to ensure correct elimination and to allow the system to detoxify.

MEMorrisNJ-it seems obvious to me when I got that cold & flu & kidney & liver pain the toxin baddies were trying to exit my body but couldn't because of the sudden accumalation that couldn't be filtered. I will admit I must be a extreme case of this excitotoxin poisoning & although I had great relief thus far I feel it necesary to get these baddies out of me. The liver flush like I've said I done 10 so far so I know what I'm doing there. I admit I had a little problem when I did a kidney flush some months back due to the detox was too strong for me but I know now how to handle it better. But lets be honest here. Why are we all here in the first place? It's because were're all taking charge of our own health & we all know doctors will not help us. It's the same at Curezone. Besides what am I suppose to do with these toxins sitting in my liver, kidney, & wherever else, just let it sit there, that does not seem right.

This past week I stopped taking the mag oratate, vit B, zinc, CoQ10, & taurine due to the cold & flu but today I started back up cause I'm feeling better.

I hear what your saying what you said continuing your efforts to eliminate processed foods & it's interesting you said that at this time. Yesterday I was a bad boy & stopped at a butcher shop & got a meatball & ziti dinner on my way to work & find myself today with some liver pain & low back pain & other minor reations. Not to make an excuse but the day before I got very little sleep & I just didn't feel like going out to get the right foods & I didn't have anything here. But that's ok..before eliminating msg I've been going there about once a week but now that I'm eliminating msg I was curious to try their stuff again to see how I would react...now I know. I have gone back on the archives many & taken notes it's just hard to catch up. On my computer I have all kinds of notes on different subjects such as; what to eat, recipes, safe foods, facts on msg, symptoms, supplement action & the such so you see I've been busy. I'm on my way out now to get the stuff needed for Deb's pancakes, & ground beef patties. The one I'm having trouble with are the snack ideas. I guess I'll get the rice cakes & almond butter again for now. It's really weird how that muffin made me so ill. I had it many times before that is before eliminating msg but now that I stirred things up I reacted to it big time.

Tom...I glad we finally meet as I see you know a lot about this stuff.

I see what you mean about the caveman diet, it makes sense. I really didn't go caveman but started right away on Deb's recipes & stopped processed foods but got alot of relief but also at the same time alot of detox. So I guess you're saying I should still go on caveman diet to do it correctly, is that right? I just browned some ground beef with noodles & alittle onion, is that ok? I know I should be eating fruits & veggies but I've been reluctant due to auxigro. Also having Lungrens brown rice cakes & almond butter; know that isn't caveman but better what I was eating. Something else you can recommend?

When I first omitted MSG I had a headache which lasted for a week. The weird thing was that the H/A didn't occur until 7 days into the diet. I also went cold turkey off soda. Diet soda has Aspartame and as I learned here on this board, to omit MSG and not Aspartame would not have been very effective. In the beginning, I started by just eating Lunberg's brown rice, free-range eggs, some organic nuts, and hamburger meat from my in-laws farm, which had no additives, nor ever was exposed to antibiotics, hormones etc. I then added one item a day, because if I tried more then I would have no idea of what poisoned me. I gradually started with adding fruits and vegetables, organic mostly. The diet was not diverse, but it worked. It was virtually an elimination diet. I learned that there are many things which I thought to be safe, but weren't. For instance, some fish from Whole Foods Market. I went through the archives and wrote out brand names and specific foods which others on the board found safe. If you like, I could email you the list. It really helped me in the early days! That, and Deb's book! Keep up your good work. It is hard, but worth it. I haven't found that it gets much easier, but others say it does. I just know that I dread ever having to feel the way I used to so bad that it makes doing without MSG, Aspartame, etc. more worth it.

Make sure the ground beef is purchased at a health food store. I don't purchase any white flour pasta anymore. Read the label on the package and make sure all the bad hidden sources of msg, glutten and soy are omitted from the pasta. I buy my pasta at Whole Foods. As far as snacks are concerned I eat air-popped pop corn and fruit. One in a while I'll eat ice cream but I read the label and make sure there is no soy products listed. I drink a lot of water during the day too. I've lost over forty pounds since February. I believe msg was causing my obsity. I grocery shop on Saturday mornings. I work full time and bring my lunch on Monday for the entire week. I buy enough salad fixing and fresh chicken for one week and I roast the chicken on Saturday afternoon and place each piece in a freezer zip lock bags. I make my salad dressing fresh on Sunday night. I eat a half a grape fruit at mid-morning during the work week and an orange mid-afternoon. If I feel hungry after dinner I eat whatever fruit is in season or air-pop some popcorn. Hope this helps When in doubt check out Deb's book, all the answers are there. Good luck!! Pat

Would love to hear some more snack suggestions to add to my list: Raw almonds that you toast at home like Deb recommended a couple of weeks ago (be careful they are not from the batch that is recalled) Granny Smith Apples Streit’s Whole Wheat Matzoh Crackers (no additives are in this brand) Italian bread (made with just semolina flour, yeast and salt) smeared with avocado &/or Cento’s anchovies Presidents Feta Cheese (make sure it is not the low fat one) Woolwich Diary’s Rennet Free Goat cheese Brie Cheese (no particular brand --- somehow no problems with this) Dinner leftovers (unprocessed foods of course) Juiced vegetables (go to http://mercola.com and look up juicing for suggestions on easing into juicing) Boiled eggs Broiled chicken and turkey and then frozen in little packets Previously cooked plain chopped meat and parsley with homemade breadcrumbs created into meatballs and then frozen A simple salad made with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon Erivan’s yogurt Always have some little frozen packets ready to slip into an insulated bag

Carol S...I haven't found a health food store that carries ground beef but I'll look some more & area towns. How come you don't use white pasta, is it because it's hard on your liver? I don't have a Whole Foods anywhere nearby. I like your idea bringing lunch to work for the entire week, I work full time also so maybe in the future I can think in those terms. Thanks for the tips & yes I refer back to Deb's book all the time.

I got a bit of a interesting story to talk about here. For about 3 years now I've been getting these big jumps in my chest while trying to sleep. I've asked doctors but they have no idea. But since I've been on the msg elimnation diet they have calmed down. Well yesterday I did alittle food shopping but by the time I got home there wasn't enough time to cook so I could bring something to work. So out of stupidity I stopped at Wawa & got a chicken parm sandwich & sure enough I had some reactions later in the night such as neck pain & alittle burning. Then later in the night I felt sleeply so I closed my eyes just for a few minutes & I got a very sudden jolt in my chest that scared the daylights out of me. I got up & wanted to take some supplement but I only had the taurine with me so I took 2 of those & when I got home I took 2 caps of the CoQ10 with olive oil. I was afaid I would have more of those jolts after sleeping. When I got up this morning I noticed right away I didn't get any of those jolts. I was happy. Personally I think it was the CoQ10, what do you all think.

Would anybody like to take a guess of what I have, maybe that Mitro Valve Prolaspe thing, palpitations, A-fib, or seizures? I mean I can't depend on doctors so I'm on my own.

I think you may have had GERD or sleep apnea or possibly, both. I have just written to you about my sleep apnea --- those "jolts" were really scary and left me exhausted for months. It stopped since I have been much more careful with what I eat and how I cook it. Sorry, I can't comment on the CoQ10 and taurine since I do not use supplements -- maybe, someone else can.

I've been juicing very slowly as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. You can carry the juice in a thermos to work.

I don't have juice with any main meals. Mercola (http://www.mercola.com) has suggestions re juicing with vegies and it really worked for me. Just do search on Juicing.

MEMorris-sorry but I really don't think I have what you suggested. I'm not having any problems with my reflux right now plus sleep apnea I know is when you stop breathing in your sleep which I don't have but I did have these problems a few years back.

I very familiar with juicing been doing it for some time now & I did take a thermos to work today. I was just wondering if it's ok to juice while on the caveman diet.I have Jay Kordick's book "The Juice Man's Power Of Juicing". I'm also familiar with Mr Joe Mercola, I subscribe to his newsletter.

Sorry I was struggling for a label for your jolts! I should leave such labelling to the insensitive doctors who try to pigeon hole our symptoms to match to some sort of medicine to mask the problem --- instead of simplying listening and facing the fact that processed foods are creating some very serious problems!

You may want to check out the page on my website dealing with epilepsy and MSG. It seems folks with no history of epilepsy - who were pilots - wound up losing their license to fly after drinking diet sodas with aspartame in them. They had a seizure and were forced to give up flying. Many insist it was the aspartame. My theory is this: One half of the aspartame molecule can be turned into glutamate. This glutamate may have induced the seizures. I suspect your head "jolts" and the chest "jolts" are two different phenomena, but they both involve glutamate. In both cases, though, taurine may help. Taurine regulates heartbeat, and glutamate intereferes with heartbeat. Taurine levels were found to be low after an epileptic seizure (taurine is now being tried to treat epilepsy) and hospitals warn MSG interferes with meds for epileptics. This leads me to the conclusion that MSG is not a good idea due to the twin possibilities of atrial fibrillation and epileptic seizures.

Carol H - thanks so much for your post as i see you have some very important information for me. I do remember reading that article on your site about the apartame link with the pilots. I will go back to review. I did think of a small chance I might have epilepsy but I just don't know. But as far as I know I'm not ingesting aspartame as I do not drink diet sodas or any other soda & I haven't for a long time so I don't get it. Aside from aspartame, are you saying that other excitotoxins could be causing my seizures? That's interesting what you say about the taurine; maybe it was the taurine that helped me the other night. I did read somewhere on one of my links that larger dosages of taurine can be taken with no problems so I will review that to; do you have a opinion about that? Thanks so much Carol!!

On a side note I'm having a very bad Fathers Day. Since a couple of days ago I started getting reactions to msg or whatever & today I woke up much worse. I'm experiencing very bad neck pain, fuzzy head, dizzy & unbalanced, blurry eyes, weak, quezzy stomach, low back pain, swollen & scratchy throat, some liver & kidney pain; ok that's enough you get the idea. Just started on the caveman diet & off to a bad start as you can see. I suspect the brown rice I cooked up the other day as I had trouble getting it to fluff up; I'm not a cook. This morning I took the long drive to Arny Town Cemetary to see my father & it was not exactly easy, mostly at intersections where I had to turn my head to see traffic, it was not easy. On the way home I stopped at the butcher shop to pick up some ground beef & I noticed getting out of the car I really felt drunk so I did the best to hide it as they were very busy. At least I don't have a migraine. I taking my recommended dosages of CoQ10, taurine, vit B, zinc, & mag oratate. Can anybody else think of something else I should be doing to rid of this?

I'm doing much better today since waking up this morning. Still have some neck pain(but better)& feeling a little stiff but at least I don't have all them other symptoms. That overcooked brown rice really did a number on me. I've spoken to MEMorrisNJ via email & she told she also had a big problem with brown rice. I don't know, maybe I should stay away from brown rice. I thought it was just white rice we had to be careful with, but live & learn. I took some extra of taurine last night which I think helped. So don't anybody worry about me...I'm ok...bye.

Pat - What is the label on the rice you used? I usually use Lundberg's organic rice but overcooking that can get me into trouble too.

Below are past quotes from others whom I hope do not mind me taking out of context:

From Deb A: ...oats are high in protein, some of which is glutamic acid... lots of cooking causes hydrolysis in the kitchen...

From Deb A: ...Do you simmer it for a long time? Rice even contains some glutamate which can be more easily absorbed into the system if it is in its free form...broken down by too much heat and rapid boiling. I bring it to a boil and then turn it down to the lowest setting for about 40 minutes for brown and 20 min. for white. What are you eating it with...topping it? Could butter or such be a culprit? Just an idea. But as you suggest, you just may be eating too much of it.....I go easy on any grains, beans, etc...

From Carol H: ...Jackye, I try to mix my carbs up. I'll try to eat potatoes one day, and rice another. Buckwheat can be useful too. You can eat it like oatmeal and also use buckwheat flour...

It is obvious that you are having difficulties eliminating MSG because you try to add foods for convenience or out of temptation. Please be advised to do as others have and refrain from any processed food for at least two weeks.

Your jolt experience at night is much like my A-Fib MSG reaction. I have learned to detect almost immediate when I have ingested MSG. I get a flush that goes through my body and minor "sweats". I know that this is being caused by the increased heart rate that I experience from the histamine reaction of MSG narrowing the blood vessels and causing my system to react by increasing heart rate. In my case, the rate increases so much that my heart flutters and for a period of time is not pumping blood at all to the brain. When it slows enough to effectively pump some blood again I get the jolt that you describe. I have learned to carry extra CoQ10 with me and will take another 300mg when this occurs. Within about 20 minutes the heart rate returns to normal and the heart flutters of course go away. How the CoQ10 slows the heart and helps regulate proper rhythm would take a book similar to Dr. Blaylock's to explain because it works at the cellular level supplying needed ATP to the cells being deprived of energy due to the MSG reaction which in turn causes the histamine reaction.

It could be possible that if you tried your Cayenne at these times it may have the same effect.

Please remember that this is my personal experience and my recommendations save for the cave man diet are only what I have found work for me.

MEMorris - That brand of brown rice was a cheap A & P brand. I bought some Carolina but haven't used it yet, guess I should get what you suggest. I believe I've seen them quotes the problem is remembering them & learning what one has read. Actually I didn't realize brown rice could be overcooked, I thought just white rice was the problem, live & learn. Thanks for the link...I'll review it.

Tom - you are absolutely right I choose foods out of convience & I know I need to change this. I already know that according to my blood tpye(A) I should be consuming mainly veggies & I have a problem with that but I'm trying. A while back I was juicing veggies & I was making out very well with it. I will be starting back up shortly. As for the rest of my diet I know I need more variety.

I glad you have responded to my query about the jolts as I've seen many of your past posts with the A-Fib. I'm curious about something. Are we the only 2 in this world with this problem because when I ask doctors about this they give the weirdiest look as they say they never heard anything like this. But then the doctors here in NJ are pathetic. So I'm on my own. I had it so bad in the past that many times when I would get an attack I would ask the Lord to please take me cause I just couldn't stand it anymore. But since eliminating msg to a great degree it has been much better. Just before I would get a jolt I would get this movement like a fluid or something right in the center of my chest & then BOOM. So Tom...are you saying that there's a good chance I have this A-Fib? Bacause I tend to agree, but like I say it's gotten a lot better. Thanks Tom

tom or anyone who knows this answer .how does the histamine effect work with msg as u mentioned .ive also had bad histamine built up in my system last few weeks and had to take claritin which ive not taken sinse 1yr ago arent certain foods cause or make histamine levels worse like cheese and choc.

Once we are senstized to glutamate, the system recognizes MSG as a toxin, just as it does any potentially harmful substance. Then it will release T cells, white blood cells, and histamine as a defense, when it is in our bloodstream. When histamine is released, there is inflammation and thus, a lot of discomfort. At this time of year, there is the pollen problem, in addition, for some....and of course, other allergies to contend with (food and other). Interestingly, a lot of people who once reacted to pollens and certain food, tolerate them a lot more, now that they are avoiding MSG. I'm that way.

This morning I spoke to a weight loss group via phone conferencing. I was able to use the article in First magazine which exposed the MSG/obesity connection. They asked me to talk to them again next week, which I hope to be able to do. I'd like to suggest to anyone who has seen the article, that they take a few minutes to thank the editor for exposing MSG and aspartame. I think I will ask their permission to reprint the article on our site. It's worth a try.

Hi, I am very sensitive to msg, And it last in my system for ever.My old roommate is phillipino and she ussed accent 100% MSG! in her dish which i didnt know and I went from a size 2 to who knows sometimes 6 or 8.This happen over nite believe it or not I have had ibs not going at all I had a colonic didnt help then I have been reading about the liver how it is affected and all the things the liver does and no wonder I have all this going on. I stand at work and my ankles swell and so do my hands and all over. So I am going to try a liver cleanse on top of homemade foods which I already do.Not much meat in my diet alot of vege fresh or frozen and if I see more than three ingredients in something forget it. My body doesnt need it. I cant stand the lie about msg and what it is doing to our children. And another thing antidepressants do put wt gain on from damaging the Liver. thank -u

You are on the right track with your diet. Be careful of some frozen vegetables, which can contain MSG and sulfites, both of which can be responsible for IBS. MSG is so well hidden in foods these days, so be sure to check out all the aliases on our site at www.msgmyth.com.

I'm writing to thank everyone for writing about their colonoscopy experience. It was great having this site to prepare me for the tests. I also had a EGD to find out if I have Celiac Disease. Anyway, two weeks before my tests I arranged for an I.V. containing saline and not dextrose, and preservative free in a glass bottle. The nurse came at me with the wrong item, but I quickly cleared things up and got exactly what I requested. I too had a lot of pain during the colonoscopy which made it difficult on me and the doctor because the more pain I had the more I constricted my muscles. I survived and then they gave me more drugs before starting the EGD. I don't understand why I was awake during the colonoscopy. I had no side effects and felt fine the following day, no headaches. Maybe this was due to the preservative free dextrose free IV.

Brown rice syrup I did a search about this substance used in a lot of organic products. I get complaints that it bothers many of us who are glutamate sensitive. I read that it often contains malted barley, so that may be the reason it is wise to avoid this substance. Also, the process in making it may release or create chemicals that are a problem.

I wanted to post this information from Jack Samuels of www.truthinlabeling.org. I receive many inquires about the safety of citric acid, and I asked him for more information. Here is his response: "Deb: Although most people believe that citric acid comes from citrus fruit, that is no longer true. Most of the citric acid used today (referred to as citrate when joined with something, such as calcium citrate) is made from corn. In producing citric acid, producers do not take the time nor undertake the expense to remove all protein. The remaining protein is broken down during production, resulting in some processed free glutamic acid (MSG). We are getting more and more reports from people who have reacted to citric acid, leading me to believe that there is one or more companies out there who are making sure that their citric acid can also enhance taste.

Read on to the end...gets very interesting! * * * * *Both have the same amount of calories. * * * * *Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams. * * * * *Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over

eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard

Medical Study,

* * * * *Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. * * * * *Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added! * * * * *Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods. * * * * *Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

I've been msg free for a month and all my pain went away. I've suffered from whiplash pain for over 5 years; pain in the neck, back and hips. My neck and hips would go out of alignment every few days. Even with chiropractic adjustments and yoga my hips and neck would still not stay where they should be.

Yoga did fix my back; it never needs aligned anymore and it cracks on it own anyway. But yoga didnt seem to do much for my hips and neck.

I was still getting a pressure type feeling in my head occasionally, which thru using a food diary, I linked to milk and wheat. I've been off of milk for 2 weeks now, and wheat only a few days. I will soon see how that goes. I hope the wheat sensitivy fades because I sure love bread..sigh..

I made gluten-free muffins; they are so nasty and yet good somehow. UG! I guess cooking without wheat is an artform. Those muffins weight about 5 lbs each, hee hee! (I've been studying Dogtor J's site, tons of good stuff there about wheat and milk being bad stuff.)

It feels good to be off the junk! And my 3 year old is starting to enjoy eating real food. Now he says things like: "Is that all natural? Is that REAL food?"

Thank you everyone for your posts. This site and the cook book has changed me and my family for the better. Everyone that eats my cooking says that they have more energy and less pain. (less anger too..hmmmm interesting)

That is great Mosey!!!!! I too cannot eat Diary. I have not been able to drink milk for a few years now. And I have found wheat gives me terrible stomach problems. But that is the store bought stuff( some of it was supposed to be safe stuff, but I don't know). I want to try to do more baking at home with wheat and see how it affects me.

It is great the effect it is having on your 3 year old. I think eating patterns are learned easier early on. But can be changed later, I have learned to eat better.

I have read some at the vets site. It is interesting. I wonder about celiac's disease too?

I get a headache from oats!!!I tried them several times to be sure. Even some I got from a farmers market. And brown rice, even tried more then one brand, does not seem to agree with me. Don't know why?

A local Vietnamese man who came to America with nothing and has done very well sponsered a local drive in the huge Vietnamese community here and sent food for 2,000 Vietnamese families to the Vietnamese shrimp fishing community in Missisippi whoich has now been wiped out. The boats and houses are destroyed and most people have nothing again. The paper had a long list of what each family would receive but I felt so angry and so sad at the same time to see that he was sending 1,000 pounds of MSG for the 2,000 families. I wish he had sent something else.

To everyone One area that I don't see mentioned (maybe I missed it) is the fact that some of our beauty products have MSG in them. Cream rinses for your hair, soaps, etc. I generally can find it in products that have "natural" flavors -- for example; coconut flavored cream rinse. If this stuff is bad to ingest, then it could very well be getting into our systems THROUGH our skin!!!

I don't know if I mentioned that the terrible Uniformity for Food Act is now under consideration in the Senate and has been assigned a number. This Act, being pushed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, demonstrates, in my mind , that the food industry feels strongly that they can control federal agencies and the legislature if they can block activities of people in the states.

You may wish to ask readers of your Web site to oppose this legislation by calling their senators. See our Web site home page for details.

Just wanted to alert you good people about what is going on with this board. We are being saboutaged by either glutes or someone with nothing better to do than to fill up the site with nonsense to bog down our search capabilities. We must be doing something right to be in their black book. Mike tries to erase as much as he can, but it takes time. They post pages of garbage in an attempt to stop the truth from helping people like the 6 year old who no longer gets seizures or the school teacher who can now go back to teaching since her debilitating migraine headaches are gone. It's a sad world full of very sick and misinformed mercenaries. Keep posting. We will continue to make every effort to be here for you.

We want your input about this problem. Do you remember that student who was irrational about her stand on MSG's safety? She went on tirades and eventually showed her immaturity with some stupid comments and a vain list of her "brilliant" accomplishments. She actually accused us of wanting her dead. Very juvenile and sad. I saw such defensive anger in her, I worried about such a person wanting to "get even". Just a hunch. If it were just normal spam, there would be more sites posted. Lately there's just this nonsense. We are considering having a registration first to get into the site the first time. The computer can better handle spam that way. There are programs that cost a couple hundred that can help us, too. What are your feelings about registering visitors? We haven't done that before because a lot of people get confused and give up when they don't do it correctly. We want this to be easy for people (who are suffering) to access. Just keep trying to get into this board. We need each other and we need to fight this possible glute offensive. They want to discourage visitors for their own selfish purposes.. $$$$$$$$. I want you to know that MSG is a growing buzz word and it's a negative one...just as processed foods are being questioned by a growing number of aware consumers. When the flavor enhancer industry continues to force more and more "MSG is safe" articles down our throats, you know they are trying to counteract a real threat. Please continue to spread the word. Start your own web sites and blog sites so that more people can be helped. It's not hard to do. And please tell your friends to visit our site at www.msgmyth.com, even if they have a hard time accessing the discussion board. And please don't give up on this board. It has served to help thousands regain their health. We aware of the problem and will do our best. Remember, we want your suggestions.

Deb, When I first came to this board I did find it confusing. And overwhelming. I hate to see that first time visitors have to access by registering. So many times I go to a site and if I have to register, I give up. On the other hand, I don't want you and Mike to have to take more of your precious time to weed out these conspirators and their postings. You mentioned programs which could help you, and that they cost. Would someone be able to put the ridiculous posts on the baord if there were a program to stop it? I would be willing to donate towards that, if it would keep the board easier to access. All that said, I will go with the majority of opinion and please know that I support you whatever you decide to do. Thank you so much for everything.

I agree with Lisa Marie - I would help pay for a program that would help. Let us know how we can make donations, if you decide to go that way. Amen to the "thanks" also! As you said, this board has helped me regain my health. I learn so much here!

Deb, When I go to a site and I have to register, I usually don't. I usually just leave the site. I'm sure a lot of people would do the same. I don't think registering would be a good idea. But, if that is your last option it may be what you have to do. I also would be willing to pitch in for a good program to block those annoying garbage posts. Please let us know. We Thank You for all that you do!! Pam E.

Thanks for your support!...and the input. Mike and I feel the same way about registering, so we will try other things first. And thanks for the offer of help for a program. We will take care of it, but we are so grateful for your willingness to help us. In the meantime, keep trying to check in here. A big hig to all of you caring people!

Deb, Just FYI, I can not access "Last Week" or "Last Month". I can only access "Last Day" and probably the rest of the menu. I am assuming it is because of being bogged down as Roy mentioned. Thanks! Pam E.

Here is an article just published in the July Delicious Living magazine. They place it all the bags when checking out in Washington state health food stores. It explains the run we are having on our books from Washington people. (also one of the reasons the glutes consider us an enemy). I always said to Mike that it would take someone in a small country like the U.K. to publish the truth about MSG: "Some artificial food additives commonly found in children's snacks could be a dangerous cocktail for nerve cells, particularly when combined, and may even cause hyperactivity disorder, according to new research conducted at the University of Liverpool (Toxicological Sciences, 2006, vol.90, no.1).In the study, nerve cells exposed to combinations of additivies (in the amount found in typical snacks) experienced stunted growth and disrupted signaling. Those tested included monosodioun glutamate (MSG), aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), and artificial colorings brilliant blue and quinoline yellow. Here's a quick cheat-sheet for avoiding these additives." Milissa Coleman. I'll include the list for MSG here: "MSG Names used to disguise MSG include autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, and hydrolyzed plant protein." The source for information was from Jane Hersey, national director pf the Feingold Association, which researches harmful additives in brand name foods."

Sorry for all the mistakes. I was excited and typing fast to get it on here. But I wanted to add that under Quinoline yellow, it says it is also known as D&C yellow No. 10 here, but in the U.S. should not be used in foods. However, it is used in lots of medicines here, including two versions of RITALIN!!!!! Yep, the drug used to treat hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder!!!! Avoid Brilliant Blue No.1, or Blue 1, or FD&C blue one in the U.S.

It’s been over 10 years since I discovered that MSG hides in ingredients such as “natural flavors”, “yeast extract” and so forth. I’d known I was MSG sensitive for a few years, and faithfully read the labels, often feeling terrible, like I’d eaten MSG and wondering why.

When the web came along I searched for help and found the hidden sources of MSG. This was a huge help. I’m so thankful for nomsg.com and sites like this one that are providing help for those like me who are trying to survive in a world filled with MSG.

Several times I’ve posted questions on this board, and Deb as well as others have been incredibly helpful. My hat’s off to Deb and Mike for all the work they expend to keep this site going!

So when I accidentally ate MSG, I felt rotten. When I successfully avoided it, I didn’t feel horrible, but I didn’t feel good. So I lived my life feeling mediocre some of the time and horrible once in a while, but never feeling good. I felt VERY tired all the time.

When I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, and went off wheat, I started to feel a little better. When my wife and I read Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman and started eating a lot of salads and fresh fruit, I started to feel GOOD once in a while! This was a new experience for me. I’d never felt GOOD before in my whole life.

In the last two years since reading Eat to Live, we’ve been gradually eating more and more fruits and vegetables along with healthy natural fats. For the last several weeks, I’ve been eating almost entirely raw foods, and I feel better than I ever have in my life.

It probably sounds incredibly radical, but it seems to be working for me, and I’m so pleased about it, I wanted to share what I’d experienced. I’m almost 46 years old and I feel MUCH better than I did at 20. Better than I can ever remember, and it just seems to keep getting better.

My wife and I have used countless cookbooks of almost every kind, trying to find things we can eat, and have found ways to prepare raw foods that are so delicious, we really don’t have much desire for what we used to eat. We LOVE our food and feel we are dining like kings and queens. Raw food can really taste great and be very satisfying!

I’ve left out a lot of details in order to keep it short, but I’ll be glad to share more. Just send me an email at garybenton@yahoo.com or post a question here and I’ll respond.

Hi Gary, you sound just like me! It's been a battle for 13+ years suffering with msg poisoning and I also suffer from chronic yeast infections. Because of this great site and Deb's book, I have made drastic and positive changes to my diet. I have eliminated (except for a cheat here and there) white sugar and any sources of hidden msg. I practically have the list memorized. Anything fermented does a number on me so those are gone. I basically eat like you; lots of fruits, veggies and some haddock. I buy as much organic as I can afford. My problem is my husband won't eat like me, so you're lucky you and your wife are on the same page. I'll look up the "Eat to Live" book you spoke of. The books I found very helpful are the "Maker's Diet" and "Patient Heal Thyself" both by Dr. Jordan Rubin. Although he recommends a lot of fermented/cultured foods, which I can't have, they just have a wealth of information in them. I don't eat meat any more because of all the junk (hormones/antibiotics, etc) in them. Organic meats were too expensive to buy when I changed my diet, and now I don't even miss it. Thanks for sharing. This site brings all of us "nomsg'ers" together doesn't it? Nice to know the word is getting around about msg poisoning. Dianne

Gary, it's good to hear from you. Yes, many people who are highly MSG sensitive cannot tolerate wheat. Wheat contains more glutmate than corn or soy. It's the primary amino acid in gluten. I will feel "off" if I eat too much bread or other wheat products, so I go very easy.

Here is an article just published in the July Delicious Living magazine. They place it in all the bags when checking out in Washington state health food stores. It explains the run we are having on our books from Washington people. I always said to Mike that it would take someone in a small country like the U.K. to publish the truth about MSG: "Some artificial food additives commonly found in children's snacks could be a dangerous cocktail for nerve cells, particularly when combined, and may even cause hyperactivity disorder, according to new research conducted at the University of Liverpool (Toxicological Sciences, 2006, vol.90, no.1).In the study, nerve cells exposed to combinations of additives (in the amount found in typical snacks) experienced stunted growth and disrupted signaling. Those tested included monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), and artificial colorings brilliant blue and quinoline yellow. Here's a quick cheat-sheet for avoiding these additives." Melissa Coleman. I'll include the list for MSG here: "MSG Names used to disguise MSG include autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, and hydrolyzed plant protein." The source for information was from Jane Hersey, national director of the Feingold Association, which researches harmful additives in brand name foods."

For your further information, the Brilliant Blue can be labeled here as Blue No. 1. Blue 1, or FD&C Blue 1. Quinoline yellow is found as D&C Yellow No 1. Foods in the U.S. should not contain this dye. but lots of medicines do, Including two versions of Ritalin, the medication used for hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder...quite ironic.

Diane, it's encouraging to learn what you're doing and that it's working for you! We have Deb's book also. I agree, it's loaded with helpful info.

We've recently started a web site in order to share things that have been helpful to us. I especially like to share research showing the healing power of nutrition. I work at a university, so have access to lots of original studies. I find that I really enjoy research. Our site is at http://benton.wwc.edu

One fascinating study I was able to get was done in South Africa. Scientists put a group of whites and a group of blacks on a largely fruitarian diet for six months and monitored them carefully. The study was inspired by a lady who’d been eating this way for 12 years. Some time after I got the study, I was able to read a book by this lady. In her book, she tells of how she helped her husband transition to her way of eating. It’s an inspiring little book. I have more detail and a link to her book at http://www.benton.wwc.edu/healthinfo/salt-sugar-fat.html

Deb, thanks for the info on glutamate in wheat. I didn't realize it was so high. It's good to know that.

I keep looking for an Ibuprofen without so many ingredients. They all have starch in them. I deal with a lot of pain and so far the only thing that I don't react to is Aleve and the coating on the caplets or tablets is blue and it washes right off. Any info on Aleve or an Ibuprofen that is acceptable?

I have had a sticky situation come up a couple of times and could use some suggestions. My husband and I were invited to a small casual dinner party. I offered to bring something and was told okay, so I took a vegetable tray (something I knew I could eat). I didn't inform the host about my MSG sensitivity, not wanting him to go out of his way to prepare something special for me or make him feel like he had to change the menu, thinking that would be rude. When it was time to eat dinner I discovered there wasn't anything I could eat except the bread and butter, so I took that and ate some more of my veggies and other safe hors d'oeuvres that were still available. Everyone noticed and I had to explain to the host and half the people. Was this more rude than telling the host ahead of time?

Dianne, I call the person who invites us over and simply tell him/her that I am extrememly allergic to most processed foods and seasoniongs. I tell them that I certainly don't want to hurt their feelings by bringing my own foods or snacks, but I can't take any chance and end up in emergency or whatever..it's not worth the 3 day headache, I tell them. But I assure them that I also do not want them trying to make something that I can eat, since that is so difficult or tricky. I tell them I want to mainly enjoy their company and the friends/family who may be there. It's never rude to explain why you cannot eat something due to a health problem...diabetics get a lot of respect and we should, too. This is just as serious, in my opinion, and has to be shared with others...that only helps others to understand this issue.

Sometimes I do both. I bring a safe dish as a gift if that is OK with the host (or if not, something else like wine or a plant). Just as I do when going to restaurants, I bring a small insulated bag of my own food that I loop over my handbag so it may possibly appear as part of it. My food is ready to just be popped on my plate to add to whatever may be safe from the host or the restaurant (e.g., salad, baked potato with no fixings). My safe food that I bring in insulated bag may include safe bread, cooked meat simply wrapped in foil or plastic wrap, tiny container of cooked greens that I can just dump out, etc. I do not ask for it to be warmed and don't make a big deal over any of this. I try not to call attention to myself unless these are real old friends who know my routine! And I like Deb A's suggestion she made a while back: She makes a safe dessert to have when she returns home so she doesn't feel deprived! PS Just as I would speak to the host before arriving, I speak to the restaurant server when I arrive to tell I have a very serious allergy and will be limiting my food order (e.g., plain tri-colored salad with no dressing, just olive oil and a fresh lemon on side). Last thing they want is for someone to pass out in the restaurant so they are quite obliging.

Dianne - One more thing: I find it really helps me to eat something at home before I go to someone's for dinner or to a restaurant. By not being too hungry, I can maintain better control over what I choose to eat. When I am hungry, I can really do alot of damage --- you think I'd have learned not to do this since I suffer so if I have MSG/additives!

About 4 years ago I had an attack which I believed could only be a heart attack. I drove myself to the E.R. at the local hospital. After an EKG and other blood tests and having my heart monitored, the doctor questioned my diet that morning. It had been the day after Thanksgiving and after consuming dried fruits, commercial chicken broths, grape juice, wine, and Chinese food that morning, the doctor concluded that mine was a reaction to MSG and sulfites. I was so ill (nausea, heart racing, and feeling life was leaving my body). I started researching the web and after being convinced she was right, I made changes in my diet and quickly began to improve. I was having less migranes as well. My main frustration is going to restaurants and inquiring about chemical additives and being assured that the food is "safe". It doesn't take long to know that it was or wasn't. When will a law be passed to protect the public?

Nan, we all feel the same frustrations. My husband and I very seldem go to restaurants now. We used to miss that a lot, but are happy that we can enjoy a couple local restaurants...but that means only a few select entrees on their menues. Waiters will tell you everything is safe, unless you let them know that you get so ill you can land in the E.R. I ask that they send me one of the cooks. If that doesn't work, I give them one of my printed blue cards (they are in our book and list the main aliases) and ask the waiter to take it to the chef and check the ingredients such as the sauces, marinades, soup bases, etc. I always say that I cannot tolerate any seasoning salts, dressings, or packaged items.I bring my own salad dressing in a small shaker in my purse or ask for some olive oil and some lemon slices. I sprinkle those with some salt, pepper, and sugar onto my salad. Calling ahead and asking about food selections that may be safe is a good idea, too. Traveling is something that takes lots of planning, since we don't stop at restaurants. We bring a big cooler of foods and box of snacks. If staying in a motel, we find ones with kitchens. I cook up chicken or other meat that I packed frozen. Then we keep the leftovers in the cooler for traveling the next day. Sometimes, when we are going to a relative's for the weekend, I cook up plenty of grilled or baked chicken..some for the road. Then when we get there, I'll freeze the leftovers for the trip back. There are people working on the political end of this. There are people who have even tried to sue the FDA, unsuccessfully. I know the truth will come out eventually. Write your congressmen and the FDA with your story and your complaints. Let your family and friends know what you have gone through, and please let your doctors know what has caused your symptoms. They need to be informed and shaken out of their assumption that MSG is safe if the FDA says it is.

I'm posting this as it may be of help to some people out there or in her area: "Hi Debbie, Once again My life saver.......I am so sorry. Its just that I did the caveman thing because I react to everything. I am really the sensitive one. With the chemical sensitivity causing seizures, I am more like that canary in a cave. I am still trying to find safe produce. I react to all the large company brands. I will keep trying. The suffering I would not wish on anyone. Thanks for all your support. I gave your website info out to a fellow sufferer who said she may have veggies for me & wound up helping her realize that she is still eating organic things and reacting.She is really sick as well. She has a 19 month old & a 2 year old , celiac & her brain leaves her with confusion. She just keeps asking that she will have the brain left to care for her children. It broke my heart. I am in the same boat & know how it feels. I told her to get to you quick. She never heard off the Barley malt things & other additives carregenan & citric acid. Hopefully she will get onto this now. I wondered how many people in the TriState area....( Delaware, Maryland ,New Jersey & Pennsylvania,) that you do have as sufferers. A rounded figure. Would you have a ballpark figure? I ask because of produce in this area and trying to find safe food & a possible business getting clean produce , meats & such. We are a little state and many people do not know what to do to go and find things. I have since done Major homework and ORGANIC doesnot mean what it is suppose to. Auxigro is everywhere. I talked to local farmers & they are all worried about what folks like them have done to the Industry. I will can things ( if I ever fiond them ) & pray my health holds out until I get that far and spring to come ...In the menatime a woman who buys produce and is distributor told me to look for a labels that on veggies & fruit that say, PrimusLabs, Nutriclean, & Certiclean. There are only 3 companyes that do this and inspect soil and plants and eveything. This stands for certified, pesticide, residue Free, yet we donot know if anything is used considered systemic. This should be ok..if you can find these labels. Apparently this woman Kathy Macuga can tell you more. She Is AMAZING!!! A wealth of knowledge. Tell her you talked to me Gina Bosick.......she told me about a man researching this for 30 years at Primus Labs. His name is Al Quaglino. Auxigro is used more than we know. Its not even approved so they say for fruits & veggies ( hype they put out ). This is all California approved. Other states as well. Amaranth Flour which is for celiac folks thats glutn free is grown with Auxigro.....consequently people are reacting to that. Even Organic. Kathy can be reached by calling her at 302-737-7834 anyway.....now I know why I react to Trader Joes Fresh cut up Squash and their brand Avocados. They are not clean. Also Harvest market i react to bulk bagged lettuce. Must be sprayed. Also Whole Foods you have to watch . There are things there that i react to. Their own produce guy told me to watch anything form Mexico , Argentina Chilean. Even Washington State.....UGH!!! What do I eat......I am trying to figure this as I write. I am going to contact a Cecil county farm that a wonderful Man named Ed Belote, he use to be an organic Farmer..had many sick people he serviced. Well he could not make ends meet so now he publishes a magazine. Its called Cecil Soil Magazine. You can contact him at 1-410-658-3244. He knows where there is safe things although he told me about one farmer only in this area. Their names are Amanda Kilby & Ted Patterson.....phone # is 1 -443-553-5842. I hope this may help in some way for someone. I would post but do not know how. You may share this note and post it yourself if you wish. Debbie Thank You again. Many Blessings to you , Gina

I work at my son's chiro office and a salesperson came and left a sample of Medifast, the diet drink. I just read the label, and I assure you all that I would be in the ER if I drank this stuff....like we're going to push it on our patients here! No Way! After water, the items (the bad ones) listed in order are soy protein isolate, fructose, maltodextrin, gum arabic, calcium phosphate, natural flavor, cellulose gel, dipotassium phosphate, soy lecithin, lactic acid, cellulose gum, carrageenan, acesulfame potassium (artifical sweetener), dicalcium phosphate, ..and a couple other questionable items. AVOID if you are glutamate sensitive!

Thanks, Carol!...yep, pretty busy now that I'm taking his mom's place working at his dad's office every day. He is adorable. But one good thing is that I have been able to reach at least 8 people this past week about MSG...in the office. People will overhear a conversation about MSG or the book, and then start asking questions.

We hosted an African Cultural event here in our town and along with the perfomance there were vendors selling various goods. I bought a container which was actually a 16oz plastic food tub of 100% African Shea butter. I am always looking for something to use on my skin as I am allergic to almost all ingredients in lotions and potions. This stuff is quite amazing and I recommend it. It is edible and I try to only use edible things on my skin.

Just had a surprising chat with my favorite vet. One of my cats has been excessively grooming herself for about 7 months. I was gone for the second through the fourth months and thought maybe stress was the cause. I had taken her to the vets (same vets, different doctor) 6 weeks ago, but the cat reverted back to the excessive grooming after the medication for allergies wore off. So today while the doctor was explaining all about allergies and pet food he began mentioning the different things I could add to the basic protein (I said I was going to make my own) once we determined if the cat was not reacting to it. After he went through numerous vegetables and fillers like potatoes and rice he said not to use corn or wheat because processing it (especially if in store bought pet food) can cause it to be glutamine or glutamic acid (I forget exactly what he said - but something like that).....and I quickly said "free glutamate? I know all about that". He nodded and agreed that can be a cause for reactions. It actually made me have greater respect for him....I already thought he was the best vet anyway. Yea, a doctor who knows about this - albeit a vet.

Vets know more about the harmful effects of MSG than most doctors do. There is a Net Vet, but can't remember the site, and he is very savvy about MSG. I have heard from people whose pets had seizures from the glutamate in their food...one found out too late and lost her dog as a result.

That is a very interesting page on dogtorj.net! Which reminds me - What do you all feed your pets? I have a cat, and I do look for the best cat food. I have "Spot's Stew" and the worst ingredient that I see in there is soy sauce (it could be worse, I figure). Any suggestions?

Hi Becky, I have 3 cats, ages 16, 11 & 9 months. We have been feeding them Wellness cat foods. The site is : www.oldmotherhubbard.com It lists all the ingredients, especially what is not in them (like corn, wheat, soy, artifical colors & flavors, animal by-products). Our cats are very healthy. We get the dry (healthy weight & kitten) and a variety of the canned foods. You can plug in your zip code to see who sells them in your area. Most quality pet stores will order them for you. They are pricey, but compared to store brands that are nothing but junk...well, you get what you pay for! They were not affected by the horendous pet food recall...that says a lot!

Just received this email and am pasting it here intact instead of the link, because it may not be available for long..and it's a good one to print. It shows just how innocently the industry soft sells the public on their new pseudo-MSG creations. Be aware and share the information, PLEASE.

Hi - we spoke about two years ago and it was a great conversation. Your book has been very helpful. Thank you.

I don't know if you saw this article, but this is so outrageous that I couldn't believe it. I wrote to the reporter and gave her your site as well as Blaylock's site. I have the copy pasted here.

Hope this finds you well !

Christie D.

"A New Taste Sensation Parmesan cheese has it. So does ketchup. It's umami, and it's changing the way everyone from top chefs to Frito-Lay executives thinks about food.

By KATY MCLAUGHLIN

December 8, 2007; Page W1

Americans are taught from an early age that there are four basic tastes -- sweet, salty, sour and bitter. But what describes the taste of chicken soup?

To an increasing number of chefs and food-industry insiders, the answer is "umami," dubbed "the fifth taste." First identified by a Japanese scientist a century ago, umami has long been an obscure culinary concept. Hard to describe, it is usually defined as a meaty, savory, satisfying taste.

But now, in the wake of breakthroughs in food science -- and amid a burst of competition between ingredient makers to create new food flavorings -- umami is going mainstream. Chefs including Jean-Georges Vongerichten are offering what they call "umami bombs," dishes that pile on ingredients naturally rich in umami for an explosive taste. Packaged-food companies such as Nestlé, Frito-Lay and Campbell's Soup are trying to ramp up the umami taste in foods like low-sodium soup to make them taste better, while the nation's mushroom farmers are advertising their produce to chefs as an ideal way to get the umami taste.

The food industry is embracing umami as part of an effort to deliver highly flavored foods to consumers while also cutting back on fat, salt, sugar and artificial ingredients. At the same time, more consumers are scrutinizing food labels for chemical-sounding words and unhealthy ingredients.

To understand the taste of umami, imagine a perfectly dressed Caesar salad, redolent of Parmesan cheese, minced anchovies and Worcestershire sauce; or slurping chicken soup; or biting into a slice of pepperoni-and-mushroom pizza. The savory taste of these foods, and the full, tongue-coating sensation they provide, is umami.

While umami is a relatively new concept in this country, it has been well known in parts of Asia for nearly 100 years. It was identified in the early 20th century by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese scientist who coined the name umami (pronounced "oo-MA-mee") using the Japanese term for "deliciousness." He found that foods with the umami taste have a high level of glutamate, an amino acid and a building block of protein. Mr. Ikeda developed and patented a method of making monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a processed additive that adds umami taste to food, much as sugar makes things taste sweet.

MSG, which was first manufactured by the company Ajinomoto in 1909, is made through a complex process that involves fermenting corn glucose and other raw materials. Today, an estimated 95,000 metric tons of MSG are sold in North America each year, according to Ajinomoto. It appears in everything from some McDonald's sausage and chicken meals to supermarket items like Campbell's soup, Doritos chips and Kraft macaroni and cheese.

UMAMI BOOSTERS

See 10 ingredients1 chefs are turning to to ramp up the umami taste.

Plus, listen to tips2 on trying umami at home.

What MSG has going for it is that it is a readily available, inexpensive, intensely umami ingredient with no off-flavors -- just as sugar is a classic expression of sweet and salt is perfectly salty. (Other ingredients also add umami, including yeast extracts, but these can add flavors some product developers don't want.) In many parts of Asia, it is as common to add a dash of MSG to dishes as it is for cooks here to toss in a little salt or sugar. But in the U.S., MSG has developed a bad reputation as a suspicious additive that many consumers believe gives them allergies or headaches.

In fact, many studies have found that MSG doesn't cause ill effects. "I don't see normal amounts of MSG as posing a risk to the vast majority of people," says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington food-safety advocacy group.

For years, Western chefs and food scientists debated whether umami was a true taste, as fundamental to the sensory system as sweet or sour. That changed in 2000 when scientists at the University of Miami published a study -- partly funded by Ajinomoto -- identifying receptors on the tongue with no purpose other than to recognize the presence of glutamate. Subsequent studies, some funded by the ingredient industry and others without industry funding, identified other umami receptors.

While there is debate about which study is correct, scientists now widely believe that the body was designed to recognize glutamate, says Gary Beauchamp, director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, a sensory research institute that also receives some Ajinomoto funding. Just as we crave sweets as a spur to seek out carbohydrates, we are also geared to enjoy glutamate so that we will eat proteins, he says.

San Francisco chef Gary Danko whips up a tomato soup that will tempt and tantalize with that little-known fifth taste: umami. Stacey Delo gets a demo at Mr. Danko's home kitchen.

A Monell study found that babies will eat more soup if it has small doses of glutamate. (When my 17-month-old son had a recent bout of pneumonia and lost his appetite, a grating of Parmesan, one of the foods highest in glutamate in the Western diet, helped entice him to eat noodles, rice and lentils.)

Umami's acceptance as the fifth taste has spurred everyone from high-end chefs to packaged-food makers to find ways of delivering the taste to foods. Because MSG's negative connotation has persisted in the West, that often means finding MSG substitutes. Mr. Vongerichten creates intense umami-tasting dishes, which he dubs umami "bombs," at his various restaurants. "The ultimate umami dish is expensive," he says, citing a $185 Parmesan custard with white truffles at his New York restaurant Jean Georges. His less pricey umami bombs include a $12 lunch dish of black bread with sea urchin.

Hiro Sone, chef and co-owner of Ame, a new-American restaurant in San Francisco, touts his "umami soy sauce," enhanced with kombu, a type of seaweed, and bonito flakes, which are pieces of dried fish. When added to cuttlefish and sea urchin, the umami sauce is "like an MSG bomb," Mr. Sone says, but without any MSG.

Interest in umami is driving new research and development among companies that create and manufacture flavorings for the processed-food industry. These can range from natural ingredients to artificial flavors that essentially are to MSG what saccharine and aspartame are to sugar. Senomyx, an ingredient-making company in San Diego that went public in 2004, has developed an artificial taste bud, complete with umami receptors, in its lab. The company uses it to test reactions to thousands of ingredients.

So far, Senomyx has identified four new umami ingredients that can often be used in small enough amounts to be listed on a food label simply as "artificial flavors." This is a boon to food companies because it eliminates the need to add an unfamiliar, chemical-sounding word to an ingredient list.

Nestlé is using one of the Senomyx umami ingredients in bouillon cubes in the Caribbean, instant noodle dishes in Brazil and powdered seasoning in parts of Central America, all under the company's Maggi brand.

When Campbell's recently reformulated its soups to lower the sodium content, part of the focus was on "including ingredients that would provide umami-type characteristics," says George Dowdie, Campbell's senior vice president of global research and development and quality. Mr. Dowdie wouldn't reveal which ingredients did the trick but says it was a combination of natural foods -- things like cheese, mushrooms and tomatoes -- and proprietary flavorings from flavor companies. He adds that the company is hoping to learn more about umami through a research deal it has made with Senomyx.

In mid-July, Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo, hired its first executive chef, Stephen Kalil. Mr. Kalil says he is experimenting with umami ingredients from Latin and Asian cultures -- like cheese powder, anchovy powder, fermented soybean products and mushroom powder -- to create new flavors for brands including Lay's and Flat Earth vegetable and fruit crisps. The company has no plans to replace the MSG in certain products, however. "If we were to change the flavor of Doritos, for our 18-to-24-year-old male consumer there would probably be a riot," says Mike Zbuchalski, vice president of culinary innovation for Frito-Lay North America.

Dairy Management Inc., a trade group for the dairy industry, recently funded research into what compounds cause the umami taste in Swiss and cheddar cheese, in the hope of learning how to give cheese umami taste more consistently and quickly.

The Mushroom Council, a trade group for the mushroom industry, has distributed a report to restaurants about how mushrooms contribute to umami. Titled "Umami: If You've Got It, Flaunt It," it offers instructions in "building the U-bomb," by sautéing mushrooms and adding them to grilled steak.

Some of the biggest promoters of the idea that there are umami-rich alternatives to MSG in many foods we eat are MSG makers themselves. A consortium of MSG manufacturers, led by Ajinomoto, sponsors the Tokyo-based Umami Manufacturers Association. The group hosts conferences about umami and publishes a Web site in English featuring MSG-free umami recipes.

"We are hoping that eventually people will become familiar with why this flavor enhancer is in our food -- well, because it's giving my food the taste that I like," says Kitty Broihier, a consultant for Ajinomoto Food Ingredients, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Ajinomoto. By emphasizing that the glutamate in food is the same as the glutamate in MSG, makers hope to make people think of MSG as a more natural ingredient.

For home cooks, umami can open up an entire pantry of ingredients. Just as a few shakes of salt can improve a dish, a correctly applied dash of cheese, wine or even ketchup can pump up the umami, without overwhelming the dish with the flavor of the added ingredient. Cooks skilled in umami can reduce the fat and salt content of foods without sacrificing flavor. There are several ways to boost the umami taste in a meal (see the accompanying graphic for umami tricks used by top chefs). One is to add ingredients rich in glutamate, such as Parmesan (even a rind tossed into the soup pot deepens flavor) or other types of aged cheese; soy sauce; tomato products such as juice, paste or ketchup; and fish-based sauces (like Worcestershire and Thai fish sauce). Another is to use foods high in certain nucleotides, another compound that contributes to the umami taste. These include many kinds of seafood, mushrooms and meat, especially veal and stocks made from bones.

For a more powerful effect, cooks can combine foods from those two categories. For reasons scientists don't entirely understand, when glutamate is combined with certain nucleotides, the umami effect is magnified.

Finally, cooks can build umami flavor through technique. In general, any process that breaks down protein, including drying, aging, curing and slow cooking, increases umami. This is because glutamate, normally bound up in proteins, is released into a form the tongue can perceive as umami when proteins are broken down, says Chris Loss, a senior culinary scientist at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, Calif."

Just came across a forum on another website dealing with migraines. So I posted, mentioning this site and Carol's. Deb, hopefully, you'll have some more activity from newcomers looking to buy a book. I'm crossing my fingers.

We are a government authorized domain registration organization,During the auditing process, we have found that Kmre Flila Company is not the owner of "msgmyth".We also do not know that company's detail information,So we ask you to confirm the relationship between you and that company. Now that you have no relationship with them. According to our working experience, there are two possibilities: 1.Kmre Flila Company is a domain name investment company, they want to register these names before you and sell back to you to gain profits. 2.Kmre Flila Company is consigned by your competitor to register, let your customers feel confusion.

Because domain name takes open registration, this is international domain name registration principle. So Kmre Flila Company has right to register it.I think you must know some cases about the domain names grabbed by the third party,we also won't want to see things happen like this.So required by government to inform your company to protect your Intellectual property.

Dear Anda, These people are not affiliated with us in any way. It appears that they have their own agenda, which may be to discredit us or take away business using our name. Please be notified that since you cannot tie keyword and domain names that we use with anything that their alleged company offers, that there is something wrong going on here. We hope you will honor and protect our trademark. Thank your for informing us of this situation. Best regards, Debby and Mike Anglesey

At 01:31 AM 7/15/2008, you wrote:

Dear CEO,

We are a domain name registration service company in Asia,which mainly deal with international company's dispute and registration in Asia.We have something important need to confirm with your company.On July 14, 2008, we received a formal application.One company named "Kmre Flila Company" wanted to register the following domain names: msgmyth.cn msgmyth.com.cn msgmyth.net.cn msgmyth.org.cn msgmyth.tw msgmyth.com.tw msgmyth.hk msgmyth.asia Internet TradeMark: msgmyth through our body.

During our auditing process, we found that the alleged "Kmre Flila Company" has no trademark, Intellectual property, nor patent even which are similar to that word. We found that the keyword and domain names applied for registration are as same as your company's name and trademark. One point need you to confirm: whether this alleged "Kmre Flila Company" is your business partner or distributor in Asia. If so, we will complete their registration. These days we are dealing with it.

If you are not in charge of this please transfer this email to an appropriate dept.In order to deal with this issue better,please let someone who is responsible for trademark or domain name contact me as soon as possible.

Deb, this sounds like a scam to me - but not from the glutes. If anything I'm thinking this Anda person (in Hong Kong, no less) is trying to get you to register eight additional domain names through their service in order to keep a third party from reserving them. I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as you make sure your rights to msgmyth.com don't lapse. I'm not an expert, but I'd suggest contacting your domain registrar with this information to see what they have to say about it.

Thanks, Amy and Lauren. It's good to share with you wonderful people here...makes life a lot brighter. It's hard to believe there are so many greedy and unscrupulous "people" out there....but look what some of them have done to our health. Yes, we did check and we are okay with our domain for some time.

Hi all, If I react to corn starch, is all "corn" products or anything that says corn off limits?

I didn't read the back of the confectioners sugar before I made the Buckeye Balls. Major reaction, guessing to the corn starch.

What is the easiest way to try to re-introduce foods (and not be down and out for three days at a clip) to see what specific ingredients we are sensitive to? I keep thinking maybe I won't be sensitive to the entire list of ingredients, but now I'm not so sure.

If I'm sensitive to Barley Malt, is Barley bad for me? Will it always be labeled as Barley Malt or do they sometimes label barley malt as barley?

I also need to read more info on why this happens to some individuals more than others If someone can point me to the right search criteria.

Is the word on coQ10 that it's worth trying?

And why do my friends and family think I'm crazy. I need a pamphlet or something easy for them to understand to hand out. I get so tired of trying to "convince" them and help them understand.

Oh, with the co q-10 I can't tolerate soy at all. Most of the bases seem to be in soy oil or have other ingredients I can tolerate. After hearing someone mention it doesn't make sense to take the powder with oil because it won't make it past the stomach, I'm not sure if I want to spend the money.

Just reading from a website that sells co Q10..."NOW Co Q10 is Pharmaceutical (USP) Grade. NOW uses only the 100% natural, all-trans form of CoQ10 produced by fermentation. " Is the fermentation process necessarily bad for folks like us? Sorry for all the questions. Thank you for any help!!

I've been reading on the db about microwaves and wondering how big of an issue they create. I have read controversial issues from both sides about microwaves and been thinking about using it less and less. One night I made just plain ground beef cooked and ate it with some plain brown rice I had in the freezer. I heated the rice and the meat was already warm from cooking it on the stove. No problems. The next day I microwaved the combo together, the rice and the ground beef in the same dish and I had a problem. Not sure if I'm getting paranoid, but maybe the microwave heating is a higher heat and the addition of the water from the frozen rice...??? What is the consensus? I did email Wegmans, my grocery store, and they said they do not do anything to their beef, just plain ground beef. I trust they are telling the truth. I emailed them about onions I had a reaction to and they contacted their supplier who said they used to use auxigro, but don't anymore. I usually don't have a problem with onions, I think, either, but when I microwaved them, I had a reaction. hmmmmm? any ideas?

Great sites to find healthy and safe recipes. Here is my daughter's blog: www.tasteofbluesky.blogspot.comFrom her site you can go to this super site: www.savoryseasonings.blogspot.com. This one is by one of our discussion board members, I think. Is it Emily? So many of the recipes are easy and delicious on these blogs. So if you're in a slump, get inspired!

Hi Dianne, I love the Cream of Broccoli soup. It's one of our quick meals we keep in the freezer when we don't have time to cook dinner. I also make a big batch of it without all the vegetable and freeze it to use in place of "cream of chicken soup" in a lot of our meals.

Last year I wrote on this board about the terrible problem I have with my fingernails and cuticles. I stopped using Dawn detergent and that helped. I am allergic to commercial creams and ointments--anything with petroleum base-- so I was limited in what I could use for relief. Cocoa butter didn't cause me a headache but didn't seem to cure the cuticle problem. It seems that softening the tissue was not the real answer to the problem or the direction I should have been taking. Reading on the Internet I found a piece about sugar and oil scrubs and how you would never have another bleeding cuticle. It did caution not to use it on open cuts. I was dubious and did have some open cuts. Nevertheless I mixed together a few drops of olive oil and enough sugar to be somewhat abrasive and rubbed gently on my hands for several minutes. The results were nothing short of miraculous-within a day my cuticles were healing --without any cocoa butter --and were healing to a point they had never been in years. If I was the type to get a manicure I would go get one!

I make up the same mixture to do a facial scrub now and then. I mix together some cane sugar, powdered vitamin C and some olive or almond oil. It does an amazing job. I will try it on my cuticles, too. Thanks!

When I make my chicken broth, I only simmer it for 2-3 hours or so just to be on the safe side. Once I remove the chicken, vegetables and herbs is there a risk of freeing the glutamate if I boil the broth for a little while to reduce the amount of liquid?

EmilyS, If you use very little water to begin with there won't be the need to reduce it. I know somewhere on this board I have mentioned the way I make broth, but you have to plan ahead though.

I save all vegetable juice/water in a container in the freezer and keep adding to it - also adding chicken juice or loosened chicken drippings. When you need broth it's right there in the freezer. It makes the most delicious soup, just add some carrots, celery, onions, noodles, rice or whatever you like.

Thanks Dianne. I usually use just enough water to cover my chicken. Most professional chef's reduce their stock the following day after making a batch so I wanted to give it a try. I did that with my stock today so I'll see how I do and if I react. I think going forward I'll keep to my standard method of making stock because I know my body handles it okay.

I have been thinking about using our knowledge of the ill effects of Excitotoxins to combat the high cost of health care and get that message out to political organizations that might be able to help our cause.

I recently wrote an e-mail to an Illinois State Senator that I know and she has agreed to meet with me to discuss this and other matters I have brought to her attention.

Admittedly, she may be willing to meet with me because I know her from prior to her election as Senator, but I have a feeling that a lot of politicians are clamoring for ways to solve issues brought into the mainstream by today’s economic crisis. What better time to get their attention.

Below is the context of the e-mail I sent her that she wants to meet me about:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Dear Senator Althoff,

Pam,

An article in my local paper the other day from the Associated Press caught my attention. It stated that, "Health care costs will top $8,000 a person this year, consuming an ever-bigger slice of a shrinking economic pie, says the report by the Department of Health and Human Services, due out today." Assuming the US population at 350 million, that would be $2,800,000,000,000.00 or 2.8 trillion.

I never really put a dollar figure on what my health care costs were and could still have been if I didn't discover a cause for my personal "health crisis".

About ten years ago I developed Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) but didn't know it. This is a condition that causes the heart to beat rapidly and skip beats. Many doctors see so many cases of A-Fib that they don't actively treat it unless it is so pervasive as to cause symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). But even then, they just attempt to treat the symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure which is really a medical term to label a multitude of symptoms caused by an irregular heart rate. In cases where the A-Fib is virtually continuous, they may try Cardioversion (the shock paddles) or a new procedure called Catheter Ablation.

The doctors were not able to get me out of A-Fib. Their prescribed medications helped me cope with the symptoms of CHF, but I was still in A-Fib. I began my own research on the "cause" of my A-Fib and found it to be the ingestion of an Excitotoxin known as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) that was in all the prepared foods that I was eating. Once I started avoiding MSG in all its varied forms, my A-Fib went into remission – something that my Cardiologist was unable to do with prescribed medications and/or two attempts at Cardioversion (electrical shocks). I have been virtually A-Fib free since.

How does this relate to my opening quote about health care costs? Well, when I had CHF and was seeing a multitude of doctors, taking about ten different prescribed medications and having volumes of tests performed, I would say that my medical costs met or exceeded the $8000 annual average. But since I found out that MSG was causing my A-Fib, my medical costs have fallen to under $400 per year.

Now let's begin extrapolating. My investigations would indicate that about 7 out of every ten people in the US are being adversely affected by Excitotoxins such as MSG and Aspartame being added to the food supply. Excitotoxins are described in detail in a book titled "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills" by Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD, who is a board certified neurosurgeon and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

If 7 out of 10 people (or 245 million people) could reduce health care costs by simply ridding our food supply of these toxins and you were to use my savings as an example, that would equate to an overall savings of about $1,862,000,000,000 or 1.862 trillion.

Assuming the above information is correct, you can see a potential benefit to the nation's health care. And now is the time to pursue such a solution.

There are a number of my colleagues who would be interested in serving on committees to develop a plan to implement such savings by going after the food industry to remove these toxins from our nation's food supply.

OK – now here’s my next suggestion. You fellow NoMSGers could use the above e-mail as an outline to fill in with your own personal experiences and help verify the health care cost savings example. Can you imagine if Senators across the country started getting such e-mails and started comparing notes?

Better yet, I have participated with an organization called “Moveon” at www.moveon.org

I recently informed them about my sending of the above e-mail and asked if their organization might consider investigating whether such a suggestion had merit to distribute to their 5 million registered members – most of which were instrumental in getting Obama elected.

I think this is probably the best way to get noticed - but hopefully there's thousands of us, not a hundred or so that would actually write. A handful of letters probably won't get much attention. Maybe start a no-MSG newsletter?

Is email just as good as writing a letter or sending a fax?

Would sending this to all representatives, or just the ones in your own jurisdiction be the best move?

Reading about the A-fib struck a nerve with me....my mom had that for nearly five years. She ended up having valve replacement surgery but died from complications. She was on all sorts of meds. And knowing what I know now makes me rather furious, but I didn't find out about MSG until a year had passed. Let's just say her quality of life could have been greatly improved, over most of the years I've been alive.

It also strikes a nerve with me as my mother had A-fib problems too, but only after she began cooking less from scratch and eating more and more prepared meals (in her 80s). When I look back at all her problems that began around that time, I truly think they all stemmed from MSG. What an unbelieveable shame!!!

I blame my father's years of suffering and ultimate death on MSG. He died 3 years before I learned about MSG. We all know people that could have been saved or helped. It is tragic, and we can at least honor them by helping others now.

Tom, THANK YOU for the work you are doing. The idea is brilliant and I hope we can somehow get people motivated to follow your example. Maybe we can put a link to your suggestion on our homepage and Carol's...with a link to all the states' senators or representatives. IS there such a site we can link to?

Greetings everyone.Here's a dandy new flavoring I heard about on the radio this morning, Vignon, being introduced by the Napa Seasoning Company (www.napaseasoningcompany.com). It is being introduced as a flavor bridge between different foods and wine. They were emphasing that you could then have foods and previously "inappropriate" wines together as Vignon makes a bridge between the two and the foods would be fine together. Sellers raving on and on about its wonderful umami flavor and no msg on the Dining Around town with Gene Burns show on KGO 810, giant radio station in San Francisco.Gene Burns was trying it on air and talking it up. I don't think he had a clue as to how harmful it is. As soon as I heard umami flavor my ears stood up. Contents as listed on the website are: Sea salt, natural flavors (including natural lemon juice flavor), yeast extract, dehydrated soy sauce (naturally brewed soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt), dextrin, salt), whey, natural cheese flavor, maltodextrin, dehydrated onion, spices, dehydrated garlic, shiitake mushroom powder, tomato powder, ascorbic acid, with no more than 2% silicon dioxide as anticaking agent. Guaranteed to make me sick as can be, how about you? Totally disgusting what some people will do for money. Anyone else feel like emailing them and letting them know how great Vignon would be for you?

I emailed Napa Seasoning Co. and informed them their ingredient list was more like toxic waste, that there may be more free glutamate (kills neurons) than MSG and I would be sick for 3 days if I ingested Vignon in anything.

Expect more and more such "new" seasonings or flavor enhancers, as MSG gets more of a bad rap. Kikkoman and Senomyx have developed glutamate rich flavor enhancers, too....but don't have to be labeled as such.

"Sorry you are off-put. Humans need glutamate for brain function and to live. Love to have a deeper conversation about it if you are interested but sounds like you are pretty upset about it. Life without tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, meat, mushrooms, rice, asparagus, fish, chicken, anything fermented in any way and eggs sounds pretty radical.

The UC Berkely School of Medicine Wellness Center concluded years ago that “there is more free glutamate in a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese than in a plateful of Chinese food with MSG added.”

Thanks for your message and feel free to give me a call!"

I want to do a bit more research before I respond. I want to see if Berkeley has updated research.

WOW....that is what I call an MSG NIGHTMARE! I usually don't bother with companies like that - seems they'll never get it. Not necessarily the attitude to take and perhaps if enough ppl complained, they'd re-think those ingredients. But the sad truth is, there are tons of products out there by so many companies adding these ingredients to their products that it'd take a global effort to stop. Not saying it isn't possible....one step at a time, one company at a time, a few folks organizing boycotts and getting the info out there and it eventually starts to get out there. Good for you in writing them!

You are right, Melinda. These folks are so convinced that glutamate is natural and good for our health because it's protein, that they are not going to listen..the FDA has their back and they know it. Education on a grass roots level is important. Getting the message to the right people has always been our goal...those who are suffering, and those in positions to make some change...representatives, radio show hosts, doctors. We will soon add a topic where we can work together and develop a general information pamphlet that people will be able to download and pass around to friends, family, doctors, etc.

I had a crazy thought last night. I was thinking about how big pharma "buys" doctors, and they're just like other people, and probably just as susceptible to the lure of easy money as anyone.

Dear Dr. Doe -

We are asking you to participate in a NEW diet to help your patients lose weight and avoid the risk factors associated with it, including insomnia, chronic pain, asthma, boogers, etc. The more patients you enroll, the better your chances of winning ONE MILLION DOLLARS! Each patient you submit will get you one ticket for the prize!

Not only that, but each patient will be judged on best overall improvement based on a number of factors, such as weight loss, overall fitness, cholesterol levels, etc. The winning patient will receive a smaller cash prize, plus a vacation and new wardrobe! Yay!

If you can't beat scummy corporate America, join 'em! What a great TV show!*

1 heaping tablespoon of whole organic flax seed, blend until it becomes a fine meal. Add 1/4 cup cold water blend 2-3 minutes until thickened and has the consistency of eggs. Each 1/4 cup of Flax seed mixture will replace one egg in baking.

I have read that you can add an alternate binder to help replace the missing gluten. I can't eat eggs so I use the flax seed ground up in all my breads. I also can't eat yeast so I only make quick breads which means it probably doesn't matter as much what I use. My family's favorite bread always includes flax seeds ground with my coffee grinder (store the whole ones in the fridge or freezer and grind them right before use). We are not gluten intolerant but I find myself wanting to experiment with all kinds of other ingredients now that I have had to change my cooking habits.

What flours do you use and do you use different ones for different situations(pancakes, fritters, savory quick breads, cakes, etc.)? I would like to experiment with grinding my own from quinoa since I just found a source of prerinsed quinoa that I can buy by the pound. Alas, I just need a grain mill first.

Hi Kristy...I am having no luck with flours yet. I tried Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which has Garbanzo Bean Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, White Sorghum Flour and Fava Bean Flour... I seem to be reacting to it, though. I'm sure that Garbanzo beans are high in natural glutamate and I'm not sure about the other ingredients. I really havne't experimented too much. I like the idea of grinding/milling flour fresh, but have to figure out the mill thing. I'm tempted not to bother with flour and to try to find recipes that are "flour-free" for treats. I really can get by for now, at least for a while. I may try making tortillas for my kids who, I don't think are "as" sensitive as I am. I think I can manage regular flour (knock on wood) if I don't eat it more than once every 4 to 7 days. I probably shouldn't even be writing now, as I am feeling very tired and frustrated. I fell off the wagon and ate some stuff I really shouldn't have. I should probably recover from that first before I push myself to try to figure anything else out. I would also like to experiment with grinding my own quinoa. What is your source for the quinoa? I may try to borrow a friends grain mill and have a "baking" day. Have you tried baking with the Quinoa? Do you like it? I like the flaxseed idea. Any time you can incorporate flax, it's a good thing.

I found it here: http://www.nutsonline.com/search_results.html?q=quinoa&x=4&y=8 along with a lot of other stuff like: lentils, raw cacao powder(if you haven't tried this you should if you can tolerate chocolate), nuts, etc. I haven't ordered from them yet, but plan to soon. My goal is to do my own processing (even milling) as much as humanly possible but it will take me a little while to get there.

I haven't tried the quinoa flour yet because I don't have a grain mill yet. I think I may get one soon since my husband is a homebrewer (stubborn beer drinker) and he is also interested in one for his brewing. Maybe I can use that homebrewing thing to my advantage for once. LoL

I always avoid stuff like potato starch since I can't imagine a way to extract only the starch from a potato without highly processing it. The more something is processed, the further I stand from it. Just my general rule of thumb....I even try to use fresh garlic and onion for seasoning instead of powders - man, I miss the convenience of onion and garlic powders.

I have a great recipe for quickbread that involves half WW flour and half oatmeal but I am dying to try subbing other flours for the WW...It has become a staple around here and it is super easy to make. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted it - I do that alot. I will post it under recipes if you are interested.

One thing your kids might like if they do well with peanuts is "quick fudge". My daughter and I came up with this for her. Since we had to use the mixer (can't hand stir - too hard) to mix up her organic peanut butter we added some raw organic honey and raw cacao powder to it and mixed well. This tastes just like peanut butter fudge without the cacao and chocolate fudge with it. If your peanut butter doesn't have salt, add a dash. Next time I am going to roll it into balls and freeze them.

Hope you feel better soon. And as soon as you can get back to work finding something that works as a treat...that makes it much easier to stick to the program. Also, I don't have any unsafe foods in the house. I'm sure my husbands eats all kinds of atrocities when he is out in the world but none of that junk is allowed here. It was hard at first but just remember that it is a NEUROTOXIN and that makes it easier to stand firm.

One more little hint that I would like to share: I have an old office chair in my kitchen with a short portable table (tablemate, I think). I do a lot of my kitchen prep sitting at that chair - fatigue is a major problem for me as well as muscle weakness. I even have an adjustable bed (haven't been in a prone position in over a year - too painful for my back) and I will sometimes bring washed veggies in a bowl into my bedroom and cut them while in the bed to get the prep done. Look at your house and have things rearranged to work better for you. Do what you got to do - it will get better, but for now make adjustments in your thinking and "generally accepted" routine. Don't let anyone make you feel like you are being a bother because you don't want to poison yourself or your kids. Don't feel guilty if you can't do everything that needs to be done - prioritize and enlist able-bodied helpers.

Thanks Kristy. It's so funny. I have good days where I can get tons done and bad days where I just can't do anything. I've come to accept it. Don't know if my Dear Husband has accepted it,but I have. The quick fudge sounds wonderful... I have to keep remember how far I have come. I no longer have dizzy spells, nausea, high blood pressure... and I have good days. I know what you mean about missing the days of convenience of garlic and onion powders. I miss the days of being able to make anything I wanted for dinner and not worrying about the ingredients. There must be a reason for this journey. Thank you so much for being on the "board" and for all your help.... Everyone else, too!

o.k. I know alcohol is not good. but, I need something I can have every once in a while...I can't do anything acidic... no juices...no fizzy, no beer, no wine...Maybe it's a lost cause, but I feel like I can't have anything lately. I can't drink "soda" or "pop", Lemons bothers me...cream liquors bother me.. of course...Something that won't bother my reflux, make me swell, cause tigh tbreathing (like beer does)... I want a new drug, one that won't make me sick... I can't eat chocolate... something for that once a month time when you need a "fix"...LOL

Hey Sara b, I make peppermint tea sometimes. You can find a brand with nothing but peppermint and sweeten with a little sugar or stevia. I think Deb even drinks it on ice. It tastes just like a peppermint stick. I know what you mean about some kind of treat. My kids eat bananas, apples and oranges and I always envy them so much. I "hear" people on the board talking about hummus or melted cheese on crackers and my mouth waters. My kids get to drink juice and lemonade - I'm stuck with water.....I don't think I am asking for much, I mean, it's not like I want to eat pizza or carrot cake or fast food. BTW, I have started on the supplements twice a day and very basic diet and I feel better.

Brag time! Our son just graduated from chiropractic school and has been offered a great job with a Spokane doctor. When he went to interview there, my son asked him what he thought about MSG. He said he knew is was bad stuff...our son told him more about our book and MSG and the doctor said he wanted to make diet a bigger part of his practice with Craig's help...yahoo! Right now my son, his wife and 3 little ones are living with us until he gets his state license, so I apologize for not posting here in awhile...it's a zoo, but a happy zoo.

Aspergillus - I was just reading some info. about enzymes. I was considering what the benefit of enzymes and ran into some interesting info. Apparently, from what I read, enzymes are made from the aspergillus mold. I am highly sensitive to molds and therefore will forego enzymes. Does anyone know the relationship between glutamic acid and molds or aspergillus? I'm guessing there is a link there somewhere, just not sure. The info. gets a little technical for me. Thanks...

Sara, If I recall I posted some info here on the board about aspergillus (maybe that is where you read the info?). I dont' know of the glutamic acid link to it, but I always felt my sensitivity to molds was due to my leaky gut/candida. I don't know how mold can have glutamates in it....but maybe it does? If anyone has info on that I too would be interested to know.

me again....I found the thread with the info I posted on aspergillus - couldn't remember what the topic pertained to but I now see I had found out that agave syrup can be produced using aspergillus and that explained why I was having reactions to agave. I don't think all agave is produced that way, but not sure...I just avoid it now.

one more time...wish there was an edit feature :p I am not sure that all enzymes have aspergillus in them - in reading my post on the agave, they use an enzyme that is "derived from" aspergillus per Wikipedia, but I really don't think all enzymes derive from mold.

I think the biggie that ppl react to with enzymes is the protease and that is because it has glutamates in it and the processing to make the enzyme frees the glutamate. Correct me if I am wrong anyone, but that is how I understood it.

But if some enzymes out there can derive from mold, I'd first inquire with the manufacture of the brand you want to take (if you can handle protease) and ask where they derive from.

http://www.potsplace.com/ I was searching the forum there to compare my wife's diagnosis...seems to be alot of discussion over there on MSG as well. They seem to be making connections with how they feel to MSG ingestion. Just an FYI, those people discussing their POTS issues and their symptoms in alot of cases (just as my wife's) could just as easily be over here in this forum. POTS and least in some peoples cases could be explained by the MSG and other neurotoxins!!!

This information was sent to me by Jack Samuels of www.truthinlabeling.org. He was concerned about some of the information about fermented foods posted here and I thought it best to pass along. Kristy, please don't feel any offense at his take on this topic, but since many here are extremely sensitive to MSG and free glutamate sources, it's good to share this:

"Sources of MSG are fermented products that contain protein. Fermented products listed were sourdough bread, kimchi, fermented salsa, and fermented vegetables. The sprouts introduce some enzymes into a dish, breaking down protein into individual amino acids." So I guess we have to be careful about what foods are fermented...the amount of protein and naturally occurring glutamate that are present in them. I know that some people cannot tolerate yogurt or other cultured dairy products for the same reason. Again, it all depends on our degree of sensitivity or the amount of free glutamate we can each handle.

I agree Deb. I always take it extremely slow when introducing a new fermented food. I also make sure I am introducing it into a completely clean diet so I will be able to tell the effects quickly. I still believe there is a huge difference between veggies and dairy fermented at home and the ones done on a commercial scale. I have tolerated all types of ferments but still can't tolerate organic apple cider vinegar and neither can my kids. My daughter (the most glutamate sensitive) cannot tolerate fermented cod liver oil, but it doesn't bother my son or me.

As with anything, do use caution when introducing fermented foods. I have never done sourdough (but we don't eat wheat) or traditional kimchi which contains fish or seafood which would make it much higher in glutamates than my homemade kind without it. Also, salsa and ketchup sounds terrific, but I haven't tried to ferment either because tomatoes are so high in glutamates.

I also want to mention that as my health has improved, my msg reactions have diminished. As I got my diet free of additives, I no longer reacted to tomatoes or beef roasts, etc. I am not sure I would have been able to tolerate these ferments in the beginning when I was still so sensitive.

Great words of advice, kristy. It sure is wonderful when we finally see and feel the results of all our efforts to avoid additives. Excitotoxins are taking such a toll on people, along with other dangerous additives.

I am a chiropractor and acupuncturist, and have been using and prescribing dolomite for the last 30 years. First there was an arsenic warning - now lead. In the '70s, after the arsenic warning, a professor of mine at MIT, whose wife has MS and was on megadoses of dolomite, tested every brand of dolomite available in the US via mass spectrometry. Nothing - nada! Perfectly safe. (His wife remains in remission to this day, with no heavy metal poisoning!)

Health-food stores are notorious for advising against dolomite. It dissolves and absorbs just fine - perhaps not the very best, but it is non-patentable, inexpensive, and has little to no profit margin. They seem to favor esoteric Ca/Mg sources - like oyster shell and coral - both of which live in the sea, and yet never dissolve. Hmmm. Do you think this could be a profit-motivated batch of hooey? Most stores don't bother to sell things for which there is no profit. Just something to consider...

"Posted on Wednesday, April 01, 2009 - 9:00 pm: I do pretty well with Sho Chiku Bai brand sake. It's also a great substitute for white wine in cooking (if sulfites bother you). That's about all I've found that doesn't give me a reaction.

I usually just drink plain water, but sometimes "fancy water" is nice, like Perrier or Pelligrino.

Jennifer"

I just want to post about Pelligrino water - drank a bottle last night - sure set off something fierce with mouth burning - just my experience and not sure what in it did it

I think it recommends six drops per bottle. I have tried this a few times, with more like six drops in the glass, and I did OK. I'm not convinced I just got lucky so I haven't really experimented a lot with this.

I looked at the website for the pelligrino water - looked at the minerals - and yes lots of fluoride and sulfates

I also had starting using some NOW vcaps which are made of wood (it appears) and that might be part of the problem. I was dumping my gelatin capsule med into them. I have discontinued using them as (last one yesterday AM) and will see if that helps.

So for now, not sure if it was the water that was the problem but there was a reaction to it and that might have just been enough to send me over the edge.

oh wow... that explains a lot- ive never been able to tolerate Pelligrino, now i know why: my body simply cannot deal with sulfates or fluorides. -and here Pelligrino adds both! they must use a TON of the stuff too, it used to make me sick to my stomach long before anything else started to trouble me much.

i'll bet Perrier gets their minerals in a similar way, i've never been able to drink it either (it makes my BBBrain hurt ")

however, PLAIN old unmineralized soda water- the kind that is just water plus fizz- i can indulge in a little of that on occasion with nothing worse than hiccups &/or burping (i think from it being an alkali in an allready low-HCl tum)... i know, probly shouldnt drink that either, huh? but its sure a nice treat to have a homemade spritzer on a hot summer day!

I tend to drink distilled treated with Sodastream machine these days (my new toy last fall) but there was a bottle of pelligrino (as well as a perrier lime I think and a couple bottles of Talking Rain) in the garage so I decided to hit them before they went flat. I do have my own distiller.

i was surprised really to see most of the minerals so low in both, actually they are both highest in calcium & sulfate. pelligrino especially high in sulfate, probly why it especially always made me feel so sick... but then, calcium supplements have always really upset me stomach too- never found one that didnt- so now im wondering about the calcium in those waters as well. i expect it must bother me so much becoz i am so low in HcL allready... something id assumed was another result of soy. but now i realize that if the calcium in this water bothered my tum way back in childhood, maybe the low Hcl thing was an issue then too (i think i mentioned somewhere that i grew up with tum issues that were mild but have gotten much worse over the years)

so interesting- and yet more to think about! thanks for posting the helpful links, sara.

Hey guys - I recently started having severe headaches and migraines and attributed it to hormone changes though I also suspected yogurt. Doc suggested 400mg B2. It was hard to find but wanted to share - I have not had one single headaches since I started taking it. I had gone from nearly daily headaches with a migraine every 3 or 4 days for the past month, to nothing for almost a week now. I'm thinking I'll be adding yogurt back to my diet. Could be a coincidence, but seems unlikely.

Wow - thanks, Roy! Funny coincidence, I just got onto the lifeextension email list somehow and just got something from them the other day. I hadn't thought to go there an look for it. Got check the source now - looks too cheap to be US made Here's to hoping!

ok - so I am liking puritan's pride. All US made products. Who's getting potassium iodide and copper to prevent radiation poisoning? Many sites are out of stock. Not much of a conspiracy theorist, but have heard the US Ggov is stockpiling for the military, etc.

well... i guess i'll have to admit im a bit of a theorist, when it comes to it ...i can remember iodine in the brown bottle as a kid, my dad liked to dab it on everything- it was dirt cheap then. seen the prices lately?? yikes how things change!

thats good to know Puritan's Pride is still a safe resource... gosh, id forgotten all about them- i think i'll go look up their prices on a few things that are just TOO spendy at the shops... Cod Liver oil for example, sheesh, another thing that was dirt cheep when i was a kid but New Seasons wants almost $40 a bottle now! and im having a hard time locating Tri-Salts for some reason, maybe they'll have that too

I would double check that Puritan's Pride is really using US made raw ingredients - my gut feeling is they are getting stuff from Asia and maybe processing it here but the raw ingredients are not US - I would love to be proven wrong on this

I would have assumed the same, Sara, but I think I will call back and confirm. They indicated the (b2) product was fermented from such and such and combined with (whatever) - and I assumed they were describing processes they perform. Thanks - I am ever suspicious of non-US made products.

i just placed an order with Drugstore.com... for anyone who is using Carlsons Cod Liver Oil- they are having a sale right now: i saved almost half! yippeee free shipping too!

thanks for the tip on Vitamin Shoppe...there's a store near here... i think i will head over there tomorrow to see if they might have TriSalts in stock & if they offer the same deal as Amazon. if not, i will have to make an online order

Thanks for the tip on the cod liver oil..I'm about out. Also, for those who like anise Homeodent toothpaste (has xanthan gum, but I do fine so far) there's a great discount price at Vitacost.com. The lemon is so-so, but the anise is great, if you like a sort of herby black licorce flavor. This is one of the few toothpastes that doesn't contain carrageenan.

I kind of rotate who I buy from online - vitacost is NOT on my list any more - too many problems with things not in stock and they don't ship part orders and some of what I ordered they didn't even have in their system - ie. they had NO idea if they would ever get it in and refused to check on it so that scratched them off my list.

I am buying from iherb.com right now - free shipping with $40 and prices are reasonable I think for what I have looked at. Last order I ordered on a Sunday evening - got the tracking number that night, UPS picked it up on Monday and it got here (WA coast) on Thursday. Oh and you can find a $5 off for newbies in coupon codes and they give you a couple free samples with your order (you can pick and choose).

Check this out! Mike has just finished updating our web site at www.msgmyth.com. Let us know what you think. We have just finished updating and revising our book, too. Lots of work lately! Also, we must be doing something right, because someone just offered to buy our MSG Myth domain. Glutes? It's just crazy.

I just did a search on "non GMO seeds", and there are a lot of sites offering great heirloom varieties. Some offer a "vault"..or large can of seeds that will last up to 5 years. I think one was from Patriot Seeds. The seeds from heirloom plants can be harvested and dried for the next season, unlike the Frankenseeds developed by Monsanto and the like. I fear that most of the population will never know what a real strawberry tastes like. Anyone remember the sweet, soft, LITTLE strawberries that tasted like heaven plain or topped with cream?

It is truly frightening what is happening to the world, not just in the good ole US of A. The bigger these companies become, the more powerful they become. I am afraid of what the future holds but will never give up fighting for what I know is in our best interest.

Seeds trust has a great variety and from what I have seen in stores (not done a lot of internet research on this after finding a high quality inexpensive local supplier) - I highly recommend them! www.seedstrust.com

I buy organic heirloom seeds in packets from a local nursery. I have yet to stock up on storage seeds in bulk. My garden is smaller than it was when the kids still lived here. We have a great farmers market that sells organic produce. But with Mike's retirement this year, we will be enlarging our garden next year.

I hear ya - Though I haven't done the research, I've always figured that all fruits and veggies each contribute unique nutrients and since I'd like to weigh 25pds less, not 250, I can't imagine I could over do it on fruit sugar in my juices. Plus it would make it awful hard to stomach this zuchini, spinach, tomato, cilantro conconction I'm drinking without a few carrots and an apple to sweeten it. I did make me re-think my planned morning drink though - I had originally thought to make a totally sweet fruit drink. Mercola also recommends fasting exercise - maybe he just likes skinny people I don't take all his advice, but find he frequently has stuff worth reading and taking with a grain of salt. Afterall, he's in it for the sales, in my opinion. I've looked up some things he private labels and find you can get the cheaper from the manufacturer. I would think if he weren't out to make a killing, his prices would be lower on volume than I can purchase as a private individual. But again, not to run the guy down - he does offer a lot of good info to read. I take only the gospel as gospel

evelyn, I used to read everything he wrote, but eventually began to think, like you, that he's in it for the sales....and some of his articles are nonsense. Occasionally he has something worth reading, but for the most part I get my info elsewhere. There is a great health forum that covers a broad range of subjects on 'delphi forums' that I supplement to Deb A.s great website.

I lost 15 pounds by making fruit/veggie smoothies every morning. I added pasteurized liquid egg whites. I made enough for breakfast and lunch and felt great. I've kept it off, but will do it again after this last round of company..too much eating going on! I puree everything in all kinds of combos.

Evelyn, I don't know where you live, I am in Northern Calfiornia, and I have found two brands of yogurt that have a few products I can tolerate. Pavel's, made in Northern California, makes three products, all unflavored, Original, Low Fat and Non Fat. I will not eat anything but the Original since I do not tolerate Low Fat or Non Fat milk. (In California milk is required to have a certain protein content and when the fat is lowered whey protein,milk solids, or other high FGA ingredients most of us react to are added.) I find Pavel's in Safeway for $6.00 a quart but for about $2.50 or $3.00 a quart in smaller ethnic markets, particularly Indian markets. The other brand is Brown Cow. I don't know where that's made, but it is carried here in Whole Foods, I can eat only the Maple flavor even though it has pectin. Watch the other flavors, they have all sorts of things I can't tolerate. You might want to try making your own yogurt at home, it's pretty easy.

Thanks, Hoteru - unfortunately, it is homemade from whole milk. Migraines are not a typical msg reaction for me, my symptoms are usually muscular, so apparently, I am sensitive to some other component of the milk when it is concentrated in this way.

Anon, I don't have a specific recipe, but I start by loading the blender 1/2 full of various fruits, fresh and home-frozen. Then I will add water 2/3 up the fruit, some sweetener (stevia, cane sugar, or agave (organic, a pinch of salt, and puree the mixture. If there is no frozen fruit, I will add ice cubes, too. Vary by adding fresh carrot, cucumber, spinach, kale, parsley, tomatoes, basil, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, almond extract, or cocoa..etc. I always add Crystal Farms pasteurized egg whites (liquid) or dry egg whites for protein. Nuts, oatmeal, or beans can also be added to the drinks. I usually use 2 to 4 different fruits and/or vegetables, but you can vary that any way you like. I love cocoa, peanut butter, water or ice, a little milk, and organic banana smoothies! In a hurry, I have added egg whites to water, milk, cocoa, ice, and sweetener...yum...banana or raspberries are good in that one, too.

I forgot to add more recipes...please give them to me, Evelyn...email to avenger@msgmyth.com. If anyone would like me to add a super great recipe that you love to make all the time, please email them to me and I can add some of them! I will put your first name by the title in the new e book. Make sure the recipes are easy to make and ingredients readily available. Thanks for the great idea, Evelyn! If people want their full name by the recipe, let me know that. And thanks, Evelyn, for asking others to add their comments. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. Yes, we need to keep the ball rolling.

New Facebook page! We will be on Facebook today or tomorrow. Please take a minute and add your comments! We need to let people know they are not alone and that MSG toxicity is real! Will keep you posted when and how to get there.

The e-book is doing well...so happy people are finding it. I want to let you know that Adrienne Samuels, Jack's widow, has self published a wonderful book called, The Man Who Sued The FDA. You can learn more about it at www.TheManWhoSuedtheFDA.info I've read half of the book, and if one wonders why the FDA doesn't do more about these toxins in our food, including GMOs, this expose will answer your questions. It's a fitting tribute to a man I knew and admired, and who was my main mentor.

Awareness & common sense! I found a store-brand tomato sauce and an in-store homemade cheesecake (that is to die for). Neither product listed any msg ingredients. But of course, I had reactions to both products on separate occasions.

After deep thought, I realized the: 1. Sauce contained diced tomatoes…..I’ve never found a can of plain diced tomatoes mfg’d without citric acid, an msg ingredient. 2. Cream cheese usually contains either guar gum or carrageen…..I’ve never found cream cheese in the dairy section mfg’d without either of those 2 msg ingredients.

So I deduced that altho not listed on the finished product label (sauce, cheesecake), those 2 products contained msg. Bottom line, I now think beyond the label.

Pat, are you saying that the tomato sauce did not list citric acid as one of the ingredients? I've been buying canned or bottled tomato pastes and sauces and I always go for the brand that at the very least contains no citric acid and preferably is organic as well.